I Had A Brother Who Was My

I Became A Set Designer For Opera.

And Now," Cried Max, "let The Wild Rumpus Start!

It Is A Blessing To Get Old. It Is A Blessing To Find The Time To Do The Things, To Read The Books, To Listen To The Music. I Have Nothing Now But Praise For My Life.

A Whole New World Of Italian Music Was Springing Up, And [giuseppe] Verdi Was Seen As Old. Boito Got Verdi All Excited About The Possibility Of Doing Another Opera, Another Kind Of Opera. In Fact, Verdi Composed His Two Best Operas, Otello And Falstaff, In His Eighties.

Once A Little Boy Sent Me A Charming Card With A Little Drawing On It. I Loved It. I Answer All My Children’s Letters — Sometimes Very Hastily — But This One I Lingered Over. I Sent Him A Card And I Drew A Picture Of A Wild Thing On It. I Wrote, “dear Jim: I Loved Your Card.” Then I Got A Letter Back From His Mother And She Said, “jim Loved Your Card So Much He Ate It.” That To Me Was One Of The Highest Compliments I’ve Ever Received. He Didn’t Care That It Was An Original Maurice Sendak Drawing Or Anything. He Saw It, He Loved It, He Ate It.