I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient of living.
---Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss, the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-91), was responsible for much happiness in my childhood of the early 1960s...I regularly checked out his funny books from my elementary school library and wasn't the only one who thought his stuff was the best: my favorite Seuss book was easily The Cat in the Hat, which I was happy to relive through the excellent Cat in the Hat ride a few years ago at Universal Islands of Adventure/Orlando. And regarding television adaptations, is there anything better than the animated half-hour version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Well, if the good doctor is right with his above quote, then I must have very attentive, alert brain cells. For it seems I've spent a great portion of my life bent toward nonsense and fantasy...much of it through Walter Mitty-like daydreaming. And I have always felt a special bond with fantasy fiction, both the kind that emphasizes kids with special magical talents and that focused on medieval-like societies with archetypical hero types and epic conflicts. But having made my own case of plunging into the world of make-believe, I feel the need to establish one crucial caveat: I always KNEW it was make-believe, never succumbing to any potential temptation to believe that any of it was real. And that's what I'm seeing others doing with preposterous conspiracy theories and a fantasized reframing of reality pitting the all-good guys against the all-bad guys as if it is all an apocalyptic war between followers of Sauron and Gandalf. Hey, I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but when the day is done it's just a dumb-ass conspiracy theory and I'd be a dumb-ass to believe it...
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