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Me and Dr. Suess

MARCH 29, 2007
Dr. Suess Beer Tray
   It was my first week working at the Ink Tank for R.O. Blechman. I had been there maybe two or three days when I was sent out on a fifteen minute errand.
I was walking past a Barnes and Noble of Fifth Ave. and saw a sign- Meet Dr. Suess Today!  I got into line. It wasn't moving. I started to feel like I should be getting back, at least make a phone call and tell the others at the studio to come down. This was 1986 and there weren't cel phones everywhere, there was a pay phone half a block away, but if I left my place in line I wouldn't get it back-   it was lunch time mid-town and these people were ruthless. Two hours later I got to shake hands with the Dr. himself. I told him I was an illustrator, that I studied with Chris VanAllsburg, that I worked at an animation studio, that I've seen all his movies... I ran all my sentences together and said it fast. People were waiting for there turn to do the same thing. He was tired and looked up at me and said "whaaaat?" I told him I had a Narragansett beer tray he designed. He told me he was 1/4 Narragansett Indian. Then I had him sign four copies of 'Green Eggs and Ham'. One for R.O. Blechman, one for J.J. Sedelmaier, one for me. and one for my mom. Then I ran like a lunatic back to the Ink Tank. They were disappointed they didn't get to meet Suess, but were certainly happy with the books.
 A lot of chance meetings took place working mid-town. Other encounters included Ozzie Osborn, Liberace, Mohammed Ali, to name a few.
© 2024 David Goldin