Praise for Senior Prom"We have been fortunate to have his unique views of life played out in his columns...while gaining a devoted following. His gentle humor and (writing) style masks one of the sharpest minds we have ever met." - From an editorial in the Anna Maria Island SUN, 0/21/11We've been saving your columns to re-read when life gets too serious." -Betty and Duke Haas"I find myself laughing out loud. It feels great!" - June Cobb "There'll never be another column like yours!" - Jeanie Akers"Your columns greet me with joy and laughter! You are amazing!" - Jill Rodd "I smiled, then I laughed out loud at your style of writing and your wonderful gift of humor. Thank you for making my day." - Rev. Donald E. Baier "Your Column is the first thing I turn to when the SUN comes out!" - Birgit Quam, Anna Maria Island, FL. What you are about to read may cause extreme heebee-jeebees.It's true that my writing style may be slightly off the wall, so be on guard for a few surprise departures from the "norm." Itbegan with TIME magazine's distinctive style up until the 1960s orso, when it discarded that intoxicating personality for some unclearreason. As an editorial staffer on TIME from 1938 to 1951, I lovedthe fun readable writing and editing that included: our own madeupwords that sounded O.K. in making a point, but were nowhereto be found in any acceptable dictionary; purposely misspelledwords, such as "prolly" for "probably"; use of the ampersand (&)wherever it fits in comfortably, as in "man & wife," "black & white,""cats & dogs"; connecting two words to make one, i.e. "cinemactor,""deareader" "millionheir"; turning a noun into a verb, as in "HeCPA'd my tax return"; and on rare occasions transposing a phraseor sentence in the interest of simplicity-like "No vegetarian he" for"He is not a vegetarian." Cabish? Most of these tricks were inventedby TIME's co-founder, Britton Hadden, the partner of fellow Yalegrad Henry R. Luce in 1923. It was Brit who Hadden eye for amusingwriting style.If, perchance, you're wondering about this book's title and subtitle,pages 3 & 17 will solve the mystery. The first of these columns(see page 1) appeared in the inaugural issue of the Anna MariaIsland (FL) SUN on 27 September, 2000.When I had to leave Anna Maria Island for old age (89) reasonsin March, 2007, I dropped anchor in Keene (NH), a mile away fromdaughter Judy (& Bob) Perry-computerrific-and their three generationsof begats. (My new home: The Woodward, a small "graciousassisted living residence" with less than 20 inmates.) The dailyKeene Sentinel also bought the column in 2009, and soon therewere more deareaders and their phone calls, visits and letters.Here's my self-styled "Senior Prom" job description: write a weeklycolumn on any subject, as long as it is fun to read, nostalgic oramusingly informative. Several deareaders helped by sending ideas,Internets, books ("Useless Information," Ignorance is Blitz," et al).The education you will be getting so painlessly while you (I hope)laugh is a special ingredient.For how I got back into writing and editing after several yearsin PR (lotsa writing) on Madison Avenue, see "Jack Who?", pages208-210.P.S. If you don't agree that this is one of the funniest books you'veever read, ask for your money back in your next letter to SantaClaus. I don't wanna hear about it. ~Jack~