David Polacheck

January 1, 1997

Dear Daniel Pinkwater:

I share my wife’s email address because she works for UT. I am David Polacheck and we share name initials which also stand for Displaced Person. I’m sure the other kids pointed this out to you when you were young as they did me; we were the types of kids they did that to. This is the first fan letter I have ever written. Borgel proves that you are a Great Author, just as the Magic Moscow books intimated. Your NPR commentary is always eagerly anticipated by my wife and I. Did you catch the reply recently to NPR about your “Lament for the Bagel”? This lady wrote in to say you can still get real bagels in Krakow, Poland, so why not have them flown in like french bread from Paris? Except she thought your piece was by Pinchas Zukerman! What a hoot! Where does “Nov schmoz ka pop” come from? I seem to remember this from a favorite comic strip. I am a big comic strip fan and was delighted and then saddened while listening to your commentary on the sad saga of Norb. Is there really no way in this electronic instant info era that we can see this work? We Want Norb! There’s gotta be a way!

Your fellow weirdo,

David Polacheck

Austin, TX

Tony Auth and I talk about bringing NORB back, but back where? We considered a series of children's books, but most publishers now make decisions by the numbers, and as influenced by accountants and the bottom line--so the concept might be beyond them. NORB did not make it as a daily comic strip. Comic books are more or less dead as a medium, and never paid any money. So far, we have not hit on an idea. Any suggestions?
There was a character, (called the hitchhiker, I think--and Seegar may have coined the word along with 'Jeep' and many others), in Popeye. He held a sign which read : Nov Shmoz Ka Pop? I think I have this right. Anybody know for sure?