Planet Eccentric

The Ripley's Believe It Or Not almanac called Planet Eccentric has just been published. I am pictured on page 176 with a 1/4 page layout and a caption that reads No Ordinary Joe. The hardback book chronicles the world's most eccentric people, places, and creatures in no less than 256 pages. Hundreds of color photos abound. The pages are filled with stories of world record holders, contortionists, strongmen, exhibitionists, and a diseased guy so terrified of venom that he wore a beekeeper's suit outdoors from 2001-2003.

Ripley's kept their verbal promise to me and put the name of my disease, Mastocytosis, in print with a brief medical explanation. They also plugged my book Stop and Smell the Silk Roses. If the above picture looks familiar, Ripley's used the photograph on my actual book cover for their page layout. No marketing major in the country would question how this could happen.

Leafing through the pages of Planet Eccentric, I have concluded that my company is a little suspect but the friendly spread is a walking endorsement. It suits me fine.