First a question for the redoubtable Mark Bakalor: why aren't ALL the pictures (meaning, of course, mine) from the Rogues' Gallery available? I thought of choosing Ann's, but thought better of it.
Second, something lost from my childhood turned up unexpectedly just yesterday, so this is a very a propos question for me. I had a wonderful book given to me by my eldest sister when I was 4 or 5, entitled "The Silly Book," by Stoo Hample of Capt. Kangaroo and Children's Letters to God fame. This book is absolutely hysterical and full of very sophisticated and funny wordplay. Sometime in my high school years the book disappeared from my parents' home and everyone assumed my Dad had given it to the Salvation Army or somesuch entity. I repeatedly asked about it to both of my sisters and my mother through the years.
Well, lo and behold, my middle sister, who is a bit of an eccentric and flaky, showed up here yesterday for the first time in over 7 years (she comes, she goes, she's like the wind) from Alaska. And out of her purse she pulls my "Silly Book," informing me she's had it for all these decades and had been using it in her classrooms (she was a teacher until retiring earlier this year). No apology, no explanation. Oh, well.
The funny thing is I had found an autographed copy on Ebay a couple of years ago, so now at least I have two copies, one to pass down to each of my sons.