Master of Laughter

The most famous line Bob Mankoff has written, was spoken by a cartoon executive at a desk: "No Thursday's out.  How about never - is never good for you?" He has stepped down as cartoon editor of the New Yorker, effective at the end of April. What will Mankoff do once May arrives? “I think I will rest on my plaudits for a while, if I can find them,” he says. “Last time I tried resting on them, I slipped and threw my back out, so I’m going to be cautious.” He founded the online Cartoon Bank - a way to make money by licensing the nine cartoons out of every 10 that got rejected, and to encourage and support cartoonists.  You can read his own Brief But Spectacular - the short PBS each week that showcases interesting people and their passions. Here's an excerpt of how he came to that famous line: "Often something that comes out of your own real-life experience, you don't directly use. You modify it within the form. I was on the phone and someone was brushing me off. So I just said to them, how about never? Is never good for you? Then I tweaked it to make it into a cartoon. That has the syntax of politeness, and yet the message is rude. And after 9/11: "The Bruce Eric Kaplan cartoon came just a couple of months after 9/11. One woman is saying to another, "It's hard, but, slowly, I'm getting back to hating everyone." It is like Christmas for me yesterday on my trip to Martin Farms.  Bob Martin, known as the Veggie Guy, is a wholesale grower of all kinds of plants, flowers and vegetables.  He allows me to pick up left over plug trays - perhaps 20 rows x 8 plants each.  That would be around 150 plants per tray if it were full.  There are about 30 of these lining the driveway having come home yesterday.  So that would come to something like 4,000 little plants.  So you can understand what makes it like Christmas.   The panorama of the cherry blossoms across the street was both a great sight and amazing scent.