Ron 'Nobby' Clarke, a terrific colleague

Superb as a writer, editor and manager, Nobby was a terrific colleague. I knew him in each of those capacities and learned from his steady, reliable example. He was fun, too. Once we ended a long day at the desk in Washington in a bar where we were chatted up by a couple of ladies. Asked what we did, Nobby replied: "Dog food sales." The rest of the evening was side-splitting as we ad-libbed as serious touts for Alpo, a popular canine treat of the time. ■