Working with Brian P. Cleary on his many books is a great deal of fun for me as an editor. As anyone who has seen him speak at a conference or school knows, he is just as funny in person as he is on the printed page. For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Brian, he kindly put together the following list of random things about himself.

1. I eat a banana every day.
2. Although I’m not a musician, I can play 5-6 songs on 4-5 different instruments.
3. I did two years in the 4^th grade.
4. I went to 16 formal dances in high school.
5. I can spin a basketball on my finger for a long time.
6. I think that white socks feel better than black ones.
7. I was shot at when I was 19, exploding my car window into a million pieces.
8. I gave my first speech in high school and college about how to tie a bow tie.
9. I am one of 9 children.
10. I believe that the types of landmarks that people use when giving directions (churches, taverns, ice cream stores) say a lot about that person.
11. I listened to nothing but jazz for, like, three years straight.
12. I pray.
13. Almost everything someone says to me reminds me of a line from some movie.
14. I graduated early from college.
15. I’m almost always in the mood for pie.
16. I drove airline pilots and flight attendants to the airport every morning I was in college, 7 days a week commencing at 5 AM.
17. I was also a licensed Realtor® when I was in college.
18. I rule at kickball.
19. I have a premonition that some day I will have to help someone deliver a baby.
20. I kind of wish that Earth was one of the planets with a ring around it.
21. I respect a dog or a child who doesn’t immediately like me.
22. Whenever directions call for me to first make sure the area is clean, and free of dirt, I always skip that part and go right into whatever’s next.
23. My singing range is fairly narrow, but I kill on certain songs. Especially in the car.
24. I’m better at baseball than Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle. Mostly because they’re all dead.
25. I told my mom when I was four that I couldn’t imagine anyone being more beautiful than her.
26. from Carol: I just couldn’t resist adding one more item to this list—I have photographic proof that Brian wore a bow tie at age 5, and he still wears them today. (As far as I’m aware, though, not all the bow ties he wears are actually yellow polka-dotted ones!)