Dream Life

I'm not complaining, so don't get any misconceptions about me being some malcontent coasting through life. Not at all. I just find it funny that the cartoons my kids watch strike me as hilarious. I've liked SpongeBob since I first learned he lived in a pineapple under the sea. I even thought Dora was sort of cool with her type-A personality forcing my children to think everything through in three simple steps. Over the bridge, through the forest, up the mountain! (I wish they'd extend those preschool lessons to elementary school. Unload the backpack, do the homework, repack for tomorrow!)

But now it's been Phineas and Ferb, and it has been at least since summer. This morning was my favorite episode, the one where Phineas and Ferb get Love Handel back together for their parents' anniversary. My favorite scene is the song I Ain't Go Rhythm when Phineas and Ferb go to the library to convince Swampy to rejoin the band. He swears he has no rhythm, despite the sound being made as he checks in book.

Sherman, as Swampy is now known, declares "Look, I got a sweet deal going on here, I got all the books that I can read, all these sweet old ladies and this carpet from the 80's, what more could a librarian need?" What more, indeed?

A song breaks out, very rhythmic of course, and Sherman decides to rejoin the band. As a bonus, it ends with a scene reminiscent of the Blues Brothers as they wheel Swampy and his drum set out the door.

Sherman/Swampy. Lived the life of a rockstar. Now lives the life of a librarian. That's a sweet gig if you can get it.

Thank You for Favorite Things

The auction has been completed, and I'd like to offer a big THANK YOU to the person who found it in their heart this Christmas season to purchase the copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe featuring an autographed letter from C. S. Lewis.

I know, I know, $9,200 is a substantial sum of money for a book, but compared to the $115,000 for the original Alice's copy of Through the Looking Glass and What She Found There or the $92,000 for Beatrix Potter's personal copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit it's a steal.

So again, to the kind-hearted soul who purchased that special copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the recent auction, thank you. After my recent post about the auction, I just know you did it for me. But don't worry, mum's the word - wink, wink - your secret's safe with me.

I'll act all surprised when I pull that wonderful package out from under my tree on Christmas morning.

More Favorite Things!

A couple weeks ago I posted on the unlikely combination of two of my favorite things - children's books and NFL football. Not long after I read of this upcoming auction.

Pat McInally played in the NFL for 10 years, from 1976 - 1985. He scored the only verified perfect score on the Wonderlic Test, which football geeks like me recognize as an intelligence test taken by prospective NFL players and discussed at length leading up to the NFL draft in April.

McInally has also collected children's books for over 20 years. And now, he's decided, it's time to sell. So check the couch cushions, take the hammer to the piggy bank, and someone, somewhere, please, get me that copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Take a look at this collection and tell me if you don't start drooling. (I'm assuming card-carrying children's book enthusiasts are reading this.) The copy of Through the Looking Glass owned by the real Alice. A first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a signed copy of The House at Pooh Corner, numerous copies of inscribed Harry Potter books, and the guest register from Boston's The Old Corner Book Store with signatures upon doodles upon signatures upon sketches of some of the most famous names in children's literature.

Really, what are going to do with that extra $100,000 you got lying around, anyway?

Remember When We Just Played?

I must be getting old because I remember when play involved other kids, outside, and usually a ball of some sort. We made up rules, changed them to our own advantage, and sometimes quit and took our ball home with us, or at least threatened to.

Now, too often, play involves other kids via wireless connections, inside, and something that must be plugged in, or at least recharged. The rules are embedded into the game's code, and if you threaten to go home, there's always someone else in cyberspace able to take your place.

My latest column is all about the former kind of play and how I introduced it to the kids. Actually, they were already well versed, but a refresher course is always good, especially for a kid getting old like me.

Click here for the column or here for the printable version.