Off camera, as soon as the lights were turned off, Buckley was legendary for
his courtly, fun-loving repartee with guests, regardless of their political
loyalties. Because he traveled extensively - in addition to their apartment
in New York and house in Stamford, Buckley and his wife, Pat, skied every
winter in Gstaad, Switzerland - Buckley enjoyed friends across a broad range
of life and rarely let politics determine his social life.

-Hartford Courant 28Feb08

In 1980 I found myself seated next to the former president of Mexico at a
ski-area restaurant. What, he asked amiably, had I done when I lived in
Mexico? "I tried to undermine your regime, Mr. President." He thought this
amusing, and that is all that it was, under the aspect of the heavens.

-National Review 1Nov05