The Barry-man

I was first introduced to Dave Barry back in high school when my mom produced a copy of Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus. I was hooked thereafter and soaked up every copy we had. Indeed, my family seemed to go on a Dave Barry spree, and before long we have a pretty substantial library.

There were many good memories from those books. Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys was a present to my dad, but once he saw the ribald humor he set it aside and, knowing my love for the author's work, said, "I'd like for you to not read this one." I replied, "Ah, I finished it a week ago." And on a more thoughtful note, Dave Barry Does Japan helped me along with my own trip to that country.

So a few weeks ago I picked up a brochure from the local theatre and turned to the guest speakers to discover Dave's picture grinning at me. Holy Moses! Word spread quickly across the campus and before long a handful of friends had gathered for a group date to the "lecture." I even picked up a couple guys en rout, who responded to my offer with, "Dave who?"

Heretics.

To my immense relief, Mr. Barry was an excellent speaker - you know how some folks are brilliant on paper, but just eh on stage? - and, despite the fellow providing running commentary in the back row, Dave had us rolling within seconds. Some of his stuff was straight from his books and though I don't call myself a complete Barry nerd, I was pleased to be able to pick them out, and yes, they were just as funny.

As for the obligatory book signing, I picked up a copy of Peter and the Starcatchers from the sales table. It should be a good read, judging by the first chapter, and received rave reviews from my female classmates last year. Dave was kind enough to sign it, "For Max, my idol."

But that's not the half of it! Head over to Dreaming of Mercy to follow her own take on the visit: she got to have dinner with the guy! There is a pre-dinner post up and I'm expecting to see something of a debriefing soon.