Quotation Mark Monday

Lynne and Matt were discussing a story in Matt's new book, and what Matt could do to fix a certain part of it.
Mark: "You should use vowels, dad. Use vowels when you're writing."

Turns out he was right. That's just what it was missing.

Book it!

Are you struggling to find a decent coaster for your favorite drink? Do you find yourself thinking: "I wish my bathroom reading material included a little bit more about obscure Illinois murders"?
Having trouble starting your campfire?
Are you one thin book short of finally filling out that shelf on your book case?
Is one of the legs on your favorite table one-quarter inch shorter than all the others?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, and if you have $19.99 ($20.36 Canadian), then we've got just the book for you!

True Tales of Aurora, Illinois
by Matt Hanley

Hey, you know that guy!

Over the last few months, Matt has put together a book of short stories about historical events in Aurora, Illinois. All the stories are true, but their written in a narrative style. In other words, they're dramatic and have full rich characters. (At least that was the intention.)

For instance, you can read about the day that one of the most influential blues songs of all time was recorded in Aurora's tallest hotel. Or, the day the Wright Brothers amazed an Aurora crowd with their new invention. Or the season in Aurora that may have saved the career of future Hall of Famer Casey Stengel.
Also included, for no additional charge, are stories about: a tall, skinny Springfield lawyer's work on an Aurora patent case; the death of John Dillinger's best friend; some really gruesome murder mysteries; and the incredible heroism of Aurora's only Medal of Honor recipient.
In all, The Book is 37,064 words...or 53 pages...or 1,150 paragraphs...or 181,244 characters without spaces... long. That may seem like a lot, but it's a fast 37,000 words. (The last sixty four are a bit of a grind.)
Some of the stories were previously printed in the Beacon, but four are brand new. And since there is essentially zero overlap between the Beacon's readership and this blog's readership, they'll all be new to you!

Pretty soon, you'll be able to order it here.
The book is scheduled to be published in August. Not sure the exact date when it will be available , but the publisher said it will be "in the stores" by Aug. 8. What stores? Not sure.
But if you see it, consider buying eight copies, just in case the first seven get ruined.
For more information and exact dates of publication, search for "True Tales of Aurora, Illinois" on Facebook or click here.

Quotation Mark Mondays: Campbell's Soup

This isn't so much a Quotation Mark as a little story about Mark. Those of you who have been around Mark for more than three minutes know that he's full of questions. He loves to ask questions and he doesn't really accept "I don't know" as an answer. Two other things you should know about Mark is that he loves the show Diego and he loves soup. Particularly, Dora the Explorer soup.

Mark eating his soup, thinking about life's inequalities.

With that background knowledge, we shall proceed.
One day, Mark asked Matt why his Dora soup didn't have Diego, Isa, Tico or Benny in it. These are some of Mark's favorite characters and it seemed a shame - at least to Mark - that Diego, Isa, Tico and Benny could not join Backpack and Map in the Dora soup.
When Matt failed to provide a clear answer for this obvious oversight, Mark continued with his probing questions. Again and again and again he asked, but his intellectual curiosity about these noodles was not satisfied.

Being the helpful Dad that he is, Matt suggested Mark could write a letter to the Campbell's soup company and ask them why Diego wasn't in the Dora Soup. Matt even told Mark the name of the man who own the soup company: Pete Campbell.
This letter-writing suggestion was met with great enthusiasm and Mark set about planning his missive to Mr. Pete Campbell, king of the Campbell Soup company.

Of course, this was Mark's first letter so he needed help with the basic structure. (Also, it should be noted that Mark can't write. But this obstacle was overcome when Mark hired his father as a freelance contract employee to take dictation.)
Anyhow, Matt suggested that Mark should start the letter with something nice to say about Campbell's Soup. That way The Campbell Higher Ups would know Mark was truly a concerned customer, not some fly-by-night soup rookie. Mark thought this was a splendid idea. He wrote: "I like your soup. I really like it. It tastes good. I like to eat the Dora soup and the O Soup." Nailed it.

Next, Matt suggested that Mark get straight to the heart of the matter. While these soup folks might appreciate a little flattery (who doesn't?), they are busy people. Split pea with ham soup doesn't invent itself, you know. Mark again concurred. He wrote: "Please could you put Diego, Benny, Isa and Tico in the Dora soup? Could you put the other letters in the O Soup? Thank you. Mark Hanley, 2-1/2 years old." Nailed it again.

Everyone involved in the project agreed it was a good letter. But was it a great letter? Would it touch the heart and mind of Pete Campbell? What about Trudy Campbell? The editorial team agreed something seemed to be missing.
Mark struck upon a solution right away. The back of the letter absolutely needed random bits of color. Mark set about adding this editorial flourish.

With the random-color issue resolved, the letter was addressed and stamped. A picture of Mark eating the soup in question was added, for authentication purposes. The letter was mailed with conviction, haste and not a whole lot of further thought.

Days passed.
Weeks.
The Dora Soup problem fell behind other issues.
The letter was forgotten minutes after it was written.
Until...
one day...
in the mailbox...
an envelope!
From Campbell's Soup!

"Dear Mark,
Thank you for taking the time to contact our President to let us know that you think our Campbell Soup products are 'M'm! M'm! Good!' We enjoyed seeing a picture of you eating our soup!

The Campbell Kid

At Campbell, our number one priority is to delight customers. In this case, it is you who have delighted us. We appreciate your enthusiasm for our company and our products. We have forwarded your great suggestions to our Product Development Team so they may benefit from it.
As a small token of thanks, I've enclosed a coupon and a Campbell's Kid doll.
Thanks again for the letter, Mark, we hope you will be a loyal customer for many years!
Sincerely,
Susan Baranowsky
Director Customer Affairs"

So, in short, Campbell's Soup is a pretty cool company.
And, second, somewhere there is a Product Development Team in a conference room watching a "Strategies for Diego Soup Addition" PowerPoint and enjoying some very awesome random blobs of color.

Mark of Fridays: Reading room



 

Like father, like son.

There's one other great thing about learning to use the potty: more time to get some serious reading done.

Quotation Mark Mondays: In your dreams

(Sitting in bed)
"When do I get to the dream part of sleeping?"

Mark of Fridays: Look out world!

Quotation Mark Mondays: Naperville and Mom O's

"Naperville is a shady town."
- Referring the multitude of trees, of course. What did you think he meant?

Bonus quote:
"If you take a bite out of a Mom O (Mark's name for a Multigrain Cheerio), it looks like a C. And then Cookie Monter can eat it!"

Mark of Fridays: Hat Manly

The wind in here is incredible. A guy can hardly keep his hat on!

Quotation Mark Mondays: Bellies

Lynne: "Why don't you ask your belly if he wants some banana?"
Mark: "Hey Belly! Do you want some banana in you?"
Lynne: "What did he say?"
Mark: "Nothing! Bellies don't talk!"