One night— many years ago— having temporarily gone off the rails, I phoned Legs McNeil to share in the experience. Legs (something of a veteran in going off the rails himself) shocked me with his apathy. “So, open a book,” was his unsympathetic response. “No, no. It’s bad,” I whined. “I CAN’T EVEN READ!” Not realizing it had come to this, Legs sprung into action. “Allow me,” he said, suddenly sounding like Wodehouse’s Jeeves, all benevolence and authority. I […]