Jacob Pepper: like Harold Bloom, but younger and infinitely more entertaining

Last Saturday I went to my old Barnes & Noble with Jacob Pepper so that he could get himself a copy of Moby-Dick.
When asked "Why Moby-Dick?" Mr. Pepper replied, in a tone slightly exasperated but still cheerful, "Cause I wanna read something totally sweet." Later, when someone spoke of a past attempt at Don Quixote, Jacob pointed out that Don Quixote was inferior, because it's not about a man trying to kill a whale.

Sometimes when I laugh at this sort of thing, put it on my blog, I worry that it seems like I am condescending, that Jacob is a joke I derive amusement from. It's not like that. Yes I laugh, but I also find myself wishing that I had said what Jacob said, that his way with words was mine, that I saw the world with the same intensity, earnestness, and good humor. So often I find myself embarassed by emotion, and Jacob's easy acceptance of his feelings and refusal to apologize for them account in large measure for his charm.

And furthermore, he's right: a story about a man hunting a whale is totally sweet.