Pamela

July 16, 2004

Hello Mr. Wonderful,

Please could you explain the dog behavior I’ve observed in a variety of parking lots? When owners run into the store and leave their dog in the car, why does the dog move into the driver’s seat? And for those few dogs who do not move into the driver’s seat, why not?

Also, I am looking for the eggplant-vegetable recipe on your site and cannot seem to find it. Would you be so kind as to direct me to the recipe?

Thank you, Mr. Wonderful. I am still somewhere beyond the ozone over having won Morty & Ray, a totally lovable story. My friend Iliana in Albuquerque would like more Mush stories. She’s not yet ten years old, but she has impeccable literary taste.

Your devoted fan,

Pamela

Dianna in Denver

July 16, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater

I must respectfully disagree with your comment on NPR that your best book is your first, Lizard Music. As good as that one is, your best book is The Education of Robert Nifkin, which has possibly one of the best opening lines in literature: “My father was a son-of-a-bitch from Eastern Europe.” How could anyone fail to be pulled into a book that starts that way?

It also contains a line whereby a morose girl insults her father by saying that he has “tiny tree frogs on his soul,” a line that, the first time i read it, made me laugh until i cried, then continue snickering uncontrollably for the rest of the evening whenever I thought of it.

Oh, I so wish you’d put out another young adult-to-adult level book. I know the kiddies love you, but we big kids do too!

Your fan, Dianna in Denver

Kirk Weyant

July 15, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater,

I happened to hear the interview with you on “Fresh Air” several days ago. Even though I was on my way inside with groceries I waited in the car to find out who you were. I wanted to know, not because I appreciated what you had to say, but because I was appalled. You talked about writing for adults with distain saying that adults were only looking for something to read before falling asleep. It seemed that you look down on this idea, and yet you said that you purposely write in such a way as to contribute to that. I do not understand why you feel that you can arrogantly say critical things about the way adults read (and their choice of reading material) and then turn around and churn out the garbage that you complain about. I have never read one of your books and probably never will since I am not interested in someone “drooling on the page” as you put it. If writing is not about art why bother?

Thank you.

Donna Haight

July 13, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater,

I was traveling with my children one weekend near christmas and we heard you (I hope it was you!) telling a wonderful story about how santa and his helpers deliver gifts to children in different parts of the world. Madison, my daughter laughed about it the rest of the trip. Told her friends the story and her birthday is coming up on August 4th. I would like to obtain a copy of it. I’m not sure if it is a book or just a tape but it would add a little humor to her 12th birthday.

The one line I remember is that in some countries seven to eight blackmen come to the home. A liitle boy says, “Did you say seven to eight?”. The story goes on to say how they would have run around the house trying to board it up so they couln’t get it. We laughed so hard over this delightful story.

Please let me know is it is available for purchase.

Thank you for your wonderful sense of humor.

Brian Siano

July 12, 2004

Humbly asking for a teensy bit of advice…Namely, could you recommend a good agent for a children’s book? I’ve finally reached a draft which needs an eye far more professional that mine own. In other words, when I’ve asked for advice, people tell me to look up either your agent or the late Shel Silverstein’s. But, since this advice never includes a name or address for such fabulous beasts, it’s not exactly the most useful.

Please accept my massive and abject apologies if this information has been discussed on your forum before, or if I’ve missed it elsewhere on your website. In fact, if that is the case, please imagine one of Fu Manchu’s minions begging forgiveness. That’d be about right.

(It’s 5,000 words about a kid who gets revenge on his cruel schoolmates. Yes, food is mentioned, at least: Boil’n’Eat, which has all the nutrition of a steak dinner without the taste.)

Eric Riback

July 12, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater,

Years ago, my wife dined at a restaurant she heard about from one of your shows – La Parmigiana in Kingston as she remembers it. We’ll be in the area and want to go there, but there doesn’t seem to be one in Kingston. On the net I found a La Parmigiana Trattitoria (sic) in New Paltz and a place that was called La Parmigiana Trattoria but seems now to be Marco Polo’s in Rhinebeck. Any thoughts?

Alicia Rosov

July 12, 2004

My 6-year-old son wants to know where Yellowtooth is. My atlas shows Yellowtail and Yellowhead, but no Yellowtooth. So I went on the Internet and wound up on this site.

Could you divulge the location of Yellowtooth? We’d like to go there one New Year’s Eve. (I’m teaching him to play a mean hand of Casino.)

Thanks!

By the way, have you ever tried explaining to a 6-year-old why a town in a book might not really exist?

Steve DeYoung

July 6, 2004

I accidentally ended up at this site, sort of like a beagle, tracking a gravy-soaked wease,l finding itself standing on a median strip. However, as long as I am here, I wanted to give proper homage* to your efforts, with your daughter Jill, on the “Larry” books. Being that I am not much of a reader of ….like….you know…text, having an option to read your work in a more digestable format and simultaneously continue the gradual work of warping my twin boys, it would seem that some cosmic tumblers are in…….sorry. It appears I am no longer on the median strip. Yep, the old nose led me to a cosmic tumbler.

(*proper homage in this case typically requires jumper-cables and a wood-wind instrument , oh and lots of improperly hyphenated words.)

Barry Campbell

July 1, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater,

I’ve always enjoyed your comments on NPR. (My mother, a retired children’s librarian, is one of your biggest fans, I think, and she turned me on to your writing years ago.)

At any rate, a piece you did on NPR years and years ago has stayed with me, because we share a common obsession: the Chicago hot dog. I remember your delight at finding a place near your home that served the authentic article.

Well, I have good news for you. You live in the Hudson Valley, yes? If business or pleasure ever require your presence in New York City, there is a new place to get a thoroughly authentic Chicago dog. Restaurateur Danny Meyer has opened a permanent stand, called the Shake Shack, in the beautifully restored Madison Square Park (a little gem of a city park bounded by 23rd and 26th Streets on the north and south, Madison and Fifth Avenues on the east and west.)

Meyer offers beautiful frozen-custard-based desserts (the custard, honestly, is to die for) and lovely old-school hamburgers and hot dogs. One of the many, many hot dog options is the Chicago-style dog.

The presentation is authentic to six decimal places: a beef hot dog, on poppy-seed roll, dressed with green relish (a green that does not occur in nature), onion, little tomato wedges, a pickle spear, sport peppers, a generous dollop of good mustard, and a dash of celery salt.

Just the other day I had a couple of these lovely artisanal sausage sandwiches, and a little cup of exquisite frozen custard afterward. I was a happy, happy man.

For the record, I have no commercial affiliation with Danny Meyer or the Shake Shack. I’m just a fat guy, giddy with delight.

Sharlene Offerman

June 29, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater we were listening to NPR back in June and you were reading a poetry book that was a delight. We can’t really remember the name. but it was something like, How Are You? or How’s everything, How are you feeling? Something close but thought you could help us.

Thank you , sharlene offerman

Michael Berla

June 21, 2004

Daniel:

Are you sure your father’s waiters were singing “God Bless America” as they brought his improvised dessert in from the kitchen on July 4, 19xx? Although Berlin wrote it in 1918, for a camp show (“Yip, Yip, Yaphank”) it really didn’t become a popular American song until twenty years later.

Great story though.

Michael Berla

Columbia, MD

Murph Crawford

June 20, 2004

Your review of this book prompted me to buy it and read it to my grandchildren, who in turn loved it. On this Father’s Day, my daughter, mother of the aforementioned children, sent me this additional page to the book. I thought you might enjoy her amendment.

Here’s to the Pop-pops!
The story people!
Pop-pops!
Here’s to the swimming one’s, the sailors and the singing ones.
Here’s to the wise ones, the digger in the sand ones, the steamer of the clams ones,
The reader of the tales ones and the bath with my whales ones.
Here’s to the the Pop-pops!
The Pop-pop person you!
Oh, I love my Pop-pop!
Yes, you!
I love you!

Happy Father’s Day!

Anthony DePalma

June 19, 2004

Mr. Pinkwater:

I am well-acquainted with your book THE HOBOKEN CHICKEN EMERGENCY, and sent you several letters about it at the time of publication. You replied in a gentlemanly manner, and assured me that the use of my name, and characterization of Anthony DePalma as a trapper of wild and renegade domestic animals was no more than an astonishing coincidence.

I took you at your word, and assured you that I would not resort to the law. In fact, my purpose in writing was less to question the appearance of your Anthony DePalma character, than to register my dismay at your presentation of an extremely large chicken as a benign and friendly creature.

Giant chickens are unpredictable and potentially dangerous. In a long career of dragging 13-foot alligators out of crawlspaces, and netting enraged muskrats, I have had some of my–let us say–most interesting experiences when confronted by ill-tempered fowl.

Now you come out with another book. LOOKING FOR BOBOWICZ, in which you offer the reader the same, giant-chickens-are-friendly myth. And I know you know better, because I myself informed you of the facts. Most alarming is that it is a book marketed for young readers. How can you sleep nights knowing that some child might innocently approach a 200-pound rooster, believing it to be safe, having read your work of fiction?

Mr. Pinkwater, you may be a very fine writer–I am no judge, being a simple wrangler of dangerous animals–and I am sure your stories of giant chickens provide entertainment for many. But, how can you expose the public to such dangerous misinformation? Have you no sense of decency? Have you at long last no sense of decency?

Or, can it be that you are in cahoots with the corporate greed-heads in that company, which I believe has Halliburton money behind it, responsible for developing these unnatural giant chickens? Don’t you rapacious capitalists have any concern for the environment and the safety of the public?

I suspect this falls on deaf ears–but I defy you to post this letter, and let the readers decide.

Anthony DePalma

Jim Mather

June 18, 2004

We are sending a picture of the prize-winning book with the reader and interested friends. Thanks for a great contest!! You remain one of our favorite authors.

Jim Mather (alias Elvis) with Maude, Selena, and Smokey.

Jim won a copy of ‘The Picture of Morty and Ray’ in last year’s contest.

Carol Irish

June 18, 2004

Hi Mr. Pinkwater-I listened to you last week on the Bob Smith Show, WXXI, Rochester, NY. I was the wacky caller at the end of your show. I know I sounded like a bit of a nutcase, I was just nervous and on a borrowed cell phone way out in the country. I drive a delivery van for Airborne Express/DHL. I had to call because my maiden name is Mazzocchi and I wanted to tell you the story of when my daughter was in forth grade (she’s 23 and just graduated from college) and the class had to read the Hoboken Chicken Emergency. Anyhow, the class was reading your book and her teacher kept mispronouncing our last name. She tried correcting her, with no luck. Anyhow, the funny thing was that her grandfather, my dad, Anthony Mazzocchi, was living in Hoboken at the time. Growing up in Long Island I had never met anyone with our last name. I have come to find out that there are many Mazzocchi’s in NJ. (Did you see those gigantic construction vehicles cleaning up ground zero with Mazzocchi in huge letters on TV?)

How did you pick that name for your character? I am going to order your new “Bobowicz” book and a few others. By the way, you were great on the radio, so FUNNY. NPR saves my sanity driving all day. Take care .

Sincerely yours.

Carol Irish

Rochester, NY