My loyal companion Mr. Tingle points out this snippet from a May 24th Newsweek profile of Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, authors of the Left Behind series. The quote comes from Jenkins: “I was in Sam’s Club the other day, standing behind a woman carrying a copy of ‘Left Behind’ in one hand and a fifth of whisky in the other. Something was going to put her to sleep that night.”

But what caught my attention was what followed. The reporter writes: “But it’s clearly cost [Jenkins] some struggle to come to terms with what sort of writer he is. ‘Pedestrian writing, thin characters — I can handle the criticism,’ he says. ‘I write to pedestrians. And I am a pedestrian. I write the best I can. I know I’m never going to be revered as some classic writer. I don’t claim to be C.S. Lewis. The literary-type writers, I admire them. I wish I was smart enough to write a book that’s hard to read, you know?’” (Emphasis mine.)

I don’t know, but I think that while his shoulders were busy shrugging “aw shucks”, his right arm was busy with a jab, don’t you?

Age watch: Jenkins is described as a “baby boomer.” LaHaye is 78. I love these guys.