In this photo, Tomie was put to work preparing dessert at a 75th birthday party in his honor, September 10, 2009. The party was organized by his publisher, Penguin, and held at an events space in the Meatpacking District in New York City. Earlier in the evening, he was asked to say a few words. His remarks were an attempt at humor, and a way to express that he had been in the book business for many decades. He paraphrased lines made by Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest,” the movie. She said, “Don’t f*!k with me, fellas. This ain’t my first time at the rodeo.” Twitter was only a few years old and we tech ignorant guys didn’t understand the way it was used. Within seconds of making the comment, we learned the next day, tweets called out from the party, “Tomie dePaola said the ‘f’ word!” The fear of Twitter became a running joke for us. (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
