Steven L. Kent
I flew to Miami to interview Joel in 1996.
He offered to put me in a very nice hotel, but as a journalist, I felt responsible to pay for myself. So I found the cheapest hotel in the vicinity. and prepared to sleep with the cockroaches.
When Joel picked me up, it was all he could do to keep from laughing. He kept begging me to tell him how much I had paid for my room, and he offered to check me into a better hotel more than once.
He was so amazed by the lobby, he asked to my room as well and thought the rust-colored water that ran from the shower was high comedy. Despite his many requests to know how much the room cost, I never answered.
As always was the case, he gave me a wonderful interview. Joel was always positive and honest. He had a self-effacing sense of humor.
Anyway, when I checked out of the hotel, I discovered that someone had already covered my bill. It was Joel, of course. I asked him about it, and he told me, "I wanted to know what you paid. It had to be good for you to stay in a place like that."
Joel, you were the best of them. You brightened many lives.
Thank you.
Steven L. Kent