[Meaning] Many years ago now

[moonlike]

Hi
Could you kindly help me with the meaning of the bold part?

I first saw him, many years ago now, staring out with an intense gaze from the pages of a newspaper.

By the way, I know we can use now to express how long something has been happening or from when it began to the present time. However, most of the examples I found were in the present perfect or present perfect continuous form like: She's been a vegetarian for 10 years now. Here we have a simple past sentence! Also I also found that we can use now to describe a new situation in a story or report. However, the sentence I've written is exactly the first sentence of a text. Could you tell me what the meaning of the above mentioned bold part is here?
Thanks a lot
P.S. What can be the meaning of intense here? "intense gaze"
Thanks

[Tdol]

It just adds a bit of emphasis to the length of time. Intense suggests that the person's stare was hard and concentrated.

[moonlike]

It just adds a bit of emphasis to the length of time. Intense suggests that the person's stare was hard and concentrated.

Thanks dear Tdol. I was said just clicking on the like at the bottom of the post is enough. However I don't consider that one as a way to say thank you.

[5jj]

Thanks dear Tdol. I was said told (that)just clicking on the like at the bottom of the post is enough. However I don't consider that one as a way to say thank you.

That you wish to make the effort to say thank you is appreciated, but, honestly, the 'like' button is sufficient. If you write a separate post to thank somebody, it appears in the list of new posts, and people open it to see if there is a new comment or response. Some people get a little frustrated to find they are opening a message of thanks.