Ben

December 3, 2009

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

I grew up in Rhinebeck, and picked up a copy of “The Snarkout Boys & The Avocado of Death” at the local bookstore (back then there was only one) when I was around 10. I proceeded to read it regularly for ages (and was happy to discover more of your work along the way). A couple of Christmases ago, I gave a copy of your anthology to my little sister (15 years my junior). She loved every word, and Mom reported nonstop giggles for quite some time afterwards.

I’m now 30, living in New Orleans, and have recently installed a 12′ x 12′ movie screen in my studio. Friends are invited over for regular screenings of oddities and requests, and I can’t help but think of these events as “Snarkout nights.” It’s never going to be a fulltime theatre, but public latenight emporium of the unusual is certainly the longterm goal.

In retrospect, I think many of the other real-life adventures I’ve embarked upon in my adult life have been inspired in part by the spirit I first encountered in Walter, Winston, Rat and the rest of the crew… so I just wanted to say thanks for creating such witty, strange, and lasting stories.

As a new-New Orleanean, I also appreciate that the anti-spam captcha immediately below this form reads “po boi.”

Cheers,

-BEN

I may not be the greatest writer, (or possibly I am--it's not for me to know), but without question I have the greatest readers of anybody since the Marquis de Sade. What fun!