review from Mrs. Big Bird and others

10 a.m. What a treat - I just heard from Dave LaMattina, the producer of "I am Big Bird," the wonderful documentary about Carol Spinney the megastar Muppeteer that Ken and I saw a few weeks ago at Hot Docs. When his wife Deb, a warm, loving woman who's vital to her husband's survival and work, mentioned in the film that the celebrity she'd really like to meet is Paul McCartney, I knew she would enjoy my book. Luckily I happened to have a copy with me that I left with a house manager for her. In the lobby, I ran into the producer, we chatted, he gave me his card, and we wrote back and forth.

He just emailed that Deb Spinney, who does not email, text messaged him the following, and asked for my cellphone number so we can correspond:

"I loved the Paul McCartney book. There were a few parts that I could have sworn I wrote! Kindred spirits!"

10 p.m. Just in from U of T to find a message on my answering machine from Merrijoy, a longterm student and friend in her eighties who still runs an office at U of T. She had just read the book, and these are the words she used (I wrote them down, and also saved the message so I can hear it again): "Enchanting, delicious, witty, touching, significant." Very good words. "It represents so many things young women go through," she said. "A beautiful piece of work."

Okay. I'm starting to believe it now.  I guess it works, at least for some people. At least for kind people who are married to men who make a living wearing a gigantic yellow bird costume, and people who still go into the office daily at the age of 87. In other words, my kind of people. It works for them. And that's all a writer wants really, no?

Happiness is.