Q:What kind of people wanted to know Joe?
A:
What kind of people wanted to know Joe? Everybody wanted to know Joe. Writers, presidents. I think Bush wanted to meet him. Everybody wanted to meet Joe DiMaggio. And, of course, I think he became aware of this after awhile. When he was in his younger years and I didn't know him quite that well, but I felt that he felt very insecure. I don't think he liked to be around people because he was thrown into groups of people that he knew were intellectually superior -- brilliant people all over the world, all over the country. I donŐt think he felt comfortable in that particular atmosphere. And I think he felt more at home around his old friends, his old people, his surroundings. But I don't think he ever felt comfortable as long as he lived in that celebrity position that he was in.
Q: How would you see that?
A: Well, I think if you wanted to see why he was uncomfortable, he always wanted someone with him; he never wanted to be alone. I recall we had an old-timers game in Los Angeles many, many years ago -- the three DiMaggio brothers were there. He had to go to the airport. So he said, hey, take me to the airport. Sure, Joe. So I got to the airport and said, well, here we are. Come in with me. I was going to drop him off and let him go. But he wanted someone with him, to take him right to the plane and part off. This was to ward off the problem that he had with people. If he was with someone, he could disguise the problem he had by talking to you closely and eliminate the rest of the world. But without someone, I think he felt that he was alone and sort of stuck out there where he couldn't get away from them.
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