I met Paul Newman for 8 seconds back in 1995. I was the publicist for Mario Andretti’s autobiography, “Andretti,” and was at his last race in PA. Paul Newman, owner of the racing team Newman-Haas, and a close friend of Andretti’s, was there too.

I was walking by a trailer when suddenly the door swung open and there was Paul Newman.

It’s true what they say about his eyes — they’re that blue. But what I saw in that 8 seconds was an acute  intelligence, great humanity, and more than a little humor.

In his obituary in today’s New York Times, here’s what he has to say: “The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.”

Amen Mr. Newman. Rest in peace.