tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post6234845972901816732..comments2024-03-27T22:39:08.396-04:00Comments on Sweet Freedom: FFB: BENNETT CERF'S HOUSEFUL OF LAUGHTER, edited by BC (Random House, 1963)Todd Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-50937787217860236542020-05-15T23:35:26.611-04:002020-05-15T23:35:26.611-04:00Glad to trigger rich memories...sorry they are suc...Glad to trigger rich memories...sorry they are such a mixed set!Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-18039537648158003522020-03-24T01:36:12.879-04:002020-03-24T01:36:12.879-04:00I was also eight when I received this treasury as ...I was also eight when I received this treasury as a gift. At that age I was way too young to appreciate much of the humor, except for puns in the middle of the book and some bits early on in the first selection, Richard Armour's "It All Started with Columbus", for which my classmates (and also the English teacher) more than five years later had no stomach. Ironically this same class had earlier seen O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief" as humor, but I saw it as tragedy because the plot unfolded seriously every day in my family and also because I would have had a 100% on the test had I not changed two answers before turning in my paper, so instead I got a "B" on the test, which resulted in a six-weeks "B", which resulted in a semester "B", the first of four that I would see in literature classes, thwarting my dreams of becoming valedictorian. Eventually the fifth of Roger Price's Droodles, "Rhinoceros in a Paper Bag", got me hooked on his set of seven.Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-36415013652651382492012-07-27T18:23:42.247-04:002012-07-27T18:23:42.247-04:00Cute...but Hunter always did like cute...Cute...but Hunter always did like cute...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-9474116920485618262012-07-27T17:45:33.085-04:002012-07-27T17:45:33.085-04:00In the Evan Hunter book The Blackboard Jungle, the...In the Evan Hunter book <i>The Blackboard Jungle</i>, the way the main character, Richard Dadier, finally begins to get through to his juvenile delinquent-ish students is by reading them "The Fifty-First Dragon". Dadier had mistakenly thought that the story was "The Fifty-First Dragoon" and that it would be about soldiers.SteveHLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01745665231586422220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-12155580142743849842012-07-27T15:08:18.524-04:002012-07-27T15:08:18.524-04:00And I'm pretty sure this was my first exposure...And I'm pretty sure this was my first exposure to Roth, and Price, and Walt Kelly, who had just died at that time or was just about to...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-26071093940831247232012-07-27T14:03:48.881-04:002012-07-27T14:03:48.881-04:00I was a huge Arnold Roth fan when I was a kid. I ...I was a huge Arnold Roth fan when I was a kid. I have no artistic talent, but that didn't stop me from doodling faux-Arnold Roth cartoons on every sheet of paper I could find.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-4734369233713729222012-07-27T13:27:31.527-04:002012-07-27T13:27:31.527-04:00I'd forgotten about Roger Price's droodles...I'd forgotten about Roger Price's droodles. They were priceless and still are. Thanks, bud.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-56220714677982158062012-07-27T12:20:54.716-04:002012-07-27T12:20:54.716-04:00I often dip into that well (particularly as I bega...I often dip into that well (particularly as I began reading adult literature, in every sense I could find it, at a young age), and we've had at least one week, possibly two, devoted to young readers' books, obviously before you joined in...I suspect it could easily happen again.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-48243237627165497332012-07-27T12:09:37.246-04:002012-07-27T12:09:37.246-04:00I've always wondered who wrote that limerick &...I've always wondered who wrote that limerick "A tutor who tooted the flute/Tried to tutor two tooters to flute..." I've known it for decades. Never knew it was Carolyn Wells! How 'bout dat? When I was a lad I had several riddle books "edited" by Bennett Cerf. One of them was a Pop-up. I bet you'd be hard pressed to find a single copy of that one these days.<br /><br />FFB should do a tribute to children's books some day. I'd have a slew of them to pick from and the memories would be as fresh as if I had read them a day ago. Strange how books you read as a child stay with you for decades.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-64961599611377716692012-07-27T08:12:13.326-04:002012-07-27T08:12:13.326-04:00Hello, Neer, and thank you. Emailing her is good, ...Hello, Neer, and thank you. Emailing her is good, and doing what you did in leaving her a comment is also a fine means of letting her know.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-45064207767433169662012-07-27T08:02:28.277-04:002012-07-27T08:02:28.277-04:00Hi Todd
Yes, there are certain defining books rea...Hi Todd<br /><br />Yes, there are certain defining books read in our childhood. I am glad that for you this has stood the test of time. <br /><br />I was amazed to read your comment at Patti's blog. Very generous of you to remember me after all this time. I'd love to be a part of FFB but I really don't know where to send the link. Do you all email it to her? Could you please tell me how to do it.<br /><br />Thanks.neerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986509319841061021noreply@blogger.com