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Cathy C. Hallhttps://cathychall.wordpress.com/I write, write, write. Then I rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. THEN I submit all those polished-up words out into the world and sell 'em. It's a plan that's worked pretty well.

Wit of the Hour: Andy Rooney

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“I’ve learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.”
~Andy Rooney (1919-2011)

And so the 60 Minutes humorist has come to the end of the roll. But he had a good run, didn’t he? (No pun intended. Although Andy Rooney might laugh at that.)

60 Minutes and I go way back…I mean, way back. Back to the early days of the first born Junior Hall. Because I’d quit my outside-world job, and was home with a baby all week, I suppose I was starved for some kind of intellectual stimulation (no offense to the Beneficent Mr. Hall, of course.) So I watched this program and got…well, I guess “over-stimulated” would be the right word.

The Beneficent Mr. Hall would likely say “crazy.” Whatever. The point is, after 6 months or so of screaming like a banshee at the 60 Minutes folks and the provocative, investigative stories they reported, Mr. Hall advised me to step away from the television. At least, during 60 Minutes. So I did, for the sake of my blood pressure. But every once in awhile, when I was feeling a bit nostalgic, I’d watch the last 10 minutes so I could catch Andy Rooney. I mean, Andy was hilarious.

Did you ever wonder why pizza is round? In Italy, pizza is oblong. But I suppose in America, we like things round. And with lots of cheese on top. You could put a mound of mozzarella on a manhole cover and some New Yorker would eat it.

Andy didn’t say that. (I don’t think. I think I just made that up. But then again, I may be channelling him.) For years, I’ve done Andy Rooney “Did you ever wonder” bits. See, the great thing about the “Did you ever wonder” bits is that you can wonder about anything.

Did you ever wonder why dogs have four legs? Why don’t we say they have two legs and two arms? They only have one butt, though. But four legs come in handy for all that scratching. I wish I had four legs. I itch in some weird places.

Did you ever wonder why those little sticky notes are yellow? Urine is yellow. So’s a school bus.

Did you ever wonder how a guy got a job for a zillion years asking questions like “Did you ever wonder?”?

Still, I’ll miss the old guy.

Keeping Up with Picture Book Month

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You thought I was going to say Picture Book IDEA Month, didn’t you? But today is all about appreciating the picture book. That’s the idea behind the Picture Book Month website, dedicated to encouraging everyone to celebrate literacy with picture books.

Every day during the month of November, a picture book author or illustrator will champion their thoughts on why picture books are important. Now honestly, I already know picture books are important. Picture books made my painfully shy childhood a happier place. Picture books were very often the only friends I had. And I can still remember favorite friends from so…well, we’ll just say my childhood and leave it at that. ( I’m not talking about just the titles here. I can close my eyes and see the pictures. I can recall lines and lines of the text. It sort of impresses me the way I can repeat whole pages of picture books I’ve loved.)

But enough about me (and my amazing powers). The point here is that in this digital age of publishing, picture books need a little love. It’s one thing to read a novel on an e-reader, but a picture book? Just not the same.

Besides, what’s the point of coming up with tons of picture book ideas if publishers decide they’re past their time? So while you’re working up those wonderful ideas, take a moment to check out why other authors and illustrators before you think picture books are important. Get inspired! Then put a Picture Book Month Ambassador badge on your blog or Facebook or forehead.

Because picture books can make a difference in a child’s life. I’m walking, talking (to just about anybody) proof.