Thomas Pynchon appears pretty sprightly for an old guy of 60. He wears a red baseball cap with some swirling Asian calligraphy on it. He has a white mustache. His former barn door smile is apparently long fixed, but the construction of his upper palate is still askew. He sports plain wire-frame glasses. Gray hair -- a little unkempt, needs barbering. Gray jacket. Gray shirt. He´s just a guy. A monstrous voice boomed in my head: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."