June 1st is the release date, but you can preorder "Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life" and request a free autographed bookplate, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO
Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/
Dear Reader,
Last Friday's column about retired middle school band director/now an elementary school bus driver, Cliff Goodman, brought numerous requests from readers. "Suzanne, I was expecting to see a photo of Cliff's truck." I aim to please, so I asked Cliff for a photo and he delivered.
Cliff has an unusual paint job on his truck. Here's the story behind his one-of-a-kind transportation.
"...I would have students in my band for their 5-8th grade years; it was a great job as I got to watch them grow up during that important time of their lives. At the end of their 8th grade year, they got to paint the truck. They looked forward to it from the time they were in 5th grade and I always had an interesting looking truck. Many of the classes tried to embarrass me by painting a theme that might be deemed as less than dignified...one year it was the Barbie truck, one year the Elmo truck. My favorite was the year they had made a very colorful flaming truck and stenciled on the hood 'Ask me about Mary Kay.'
My wife has mixed feelings about the truck. It is our only vehicle as we are usually bike riders. She especially has mixed feelings about all the waving as she drives it. She dreams of being able to drive a less noticeable car. I assure her that it is nice to have a car that is easy to find in the parking lot.
I now drive a school bus which is great because it takes care of my kid fix. I have tried to convince the bus company to allow my kids to paint the bus, but they are not going for it."--Cliff Goodman
To see the current paint job on Cliff's truck, and to enter a giveaway in honor of dedicated teachers like Cliff, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/truck052510.html
* It's been fun signing bookplates to send to readers who've preordered a copy of my upcoming book, Muffins and Mayhem. I've signed hundreds of bookplates and last night I woke up worried that I might have made a mistake or two along the way. Please let me know if you need me to redo a gift or Happy Birthday letter, or redo a name on a bookplate.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com
* This month's Penguin Classics book is Kokoro by Natsume Soseki. To start reading and enter for your chance to win a Penguin totebag go to: http://tinyurl.com/May10Classics
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