Author: Eric Margerum

Margerumalia – A Bear Called Paddington

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – January 9, 2026

Our daughter Lora had the wonderful opportunity to go to Scotland for a month last year, performing in a play called Faster in the Attic at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She and the production got several nice reviews. While she was there she stopped to have a chat with Paddington Bear.

She posted the photo above with these comments: 

Today a statue of Paddington appeared at the park near our venue. (My sandwich was in my backpack, I would’ve eaten with him, but he had some other fans to take photos with.)

I’m sure the gentleman who offered to take this photo was confused by how emotional I got after he took it.

My Grandma and I used to read Paddington’s stories all the time (my favorite was when he got a driver’s license for his shopping cart.) And how serendipitous that I wore her necklace today.

Happy that she’s with me today even all the way in Scotland.

My mom read many books to me and my brothers when we were growing up and she was delighted to share the Paddington books with Lora. In fact, Debbie and I often sidled up to the bedside readings and enjoyed hearing the stories as well.

The stories are just right for children in elementary school because they can laugh at the way Paddington takes certain expressions literally, just as they themselves had done only a few years earlier: 

“Are you pulling my leg?!”

“No. In fact I can’t even see your legs from this side of the desk.”

There are three Paddington movies and they’re all very warm-hearted with mild slapstick, humorous misunderstandings, and plenty of marmalade sandwiches. Those are his favorite.

Here’s an Easter Egg moment for you to enjoy in the first movie: Paddington is arriving in London for the first time and sees a friendly old gentleman raise a glass to him in salute. That man was Edward Bond, the man who wrote all of the Paddington books.

I love moments like that!

The books and the movies are all entertaining without the tiresome silliness that make parents dread hearing or seeing them over and over again. In fact, I borrowed a dialogue from Paddington’s visit with a psychologist and have used it repeatedly in giving acting classes. It always draws laughter from the other students and I always enjoy it myself.

I hope you have the chance to treat yourself and any children in your family to A Bear Called Paddington.

TTFN

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – Books of Verses

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – January 2, 2026

I hope you enjoyed my verses last week. I’ve been thinking of writing enough of them to make a children’s book of poetry. How many would make for a modern day “A Child’s Garden of Verses,” I wonder. That book saw it’s 140th birthday last year. That’s quite a publishing run!

Many of my verses make use of idioms and wordplay. In fact, I was originally thinking that I should call it “Verses for the Complete Idiom,” playing off of the “Complete Idiot” how-to series, but I doubted children would get the connection. Also, the number of idioms in the English language is legion! When would such a project even end?

In my days working at Crown Books I was delighted to discover children’s books by Shel Silverstein. His skewed view of the world was nothing short of genius, and his illustrations were of minimalist perfection. Oh, how I wish I could draw! If you don’t recognize the name, seek out “Where The Sidewalk Ends” or “Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book” to get started.

I’m no Silverstein, but his work has inspired me and I thought I might use my poem “Verses Versus Curses” as the title of my book. I think it sets the mood, gives a nod to Stevenson’s “Child’s Garden of Verses” and could be the first poem in the book.

Speaking of idioms, here’s another poem I wrote recently based on the weather “raining cats and dogs.”

Cats and Dogs 

It never did rain cats and dogs 

When I played in a puddle.

It may have showered toads and frogs,

But not one you could cuddle.

A street could flood with pigs and hogs, 

Creating quite a mud-dle.

And clouds that hail down sticks and logs

Will make the children huddle.

But “sticks and stones may break my bones”

Is not a sound rebuttal.

I’m aware that “rebuttal” is not on a child’s standard vocabulary list, but there’s nothing more motivating for learning a word than hearing it used in an interesting way. I was three the first time our family took a sabbatical in Germany and I returned at age four with many new words in my own vocabulary, both German and English.

TTFN

P.S. This is not a New Year’s resolution, just an ambition. 

* * * * *

My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Some Holiday Fun

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 26, 2025

My brothers and I joke about our mother’s “last minute” gifts on Christmas Day. Younger brother Rich does the best imitation of her sudden squeal when she realized what she forgot to wrap.

Christmas morning always lasted for hours as we first ate Mom’s beloved cinnamon rolls, then opened all our stockings, and then distributed the gifts. The gift opening proceeded one person at a time, starting with the youngest. 

When Mom’s parents and sister were there, it took eight unwrappings to complete one circuit. You see, you can’t just open it and say thanks, you have to try it on, play with it, read the blurb, or play some of the music, and then exclaim how much you’re going to love it. 

Later we added spouses, then grandchildren and the morning extended right into lunchtime. Mom brought out plenty of food for people to graze on during the Christmas marathon.

Near the end of that gift extravaganza, Mom would suddenly utter her high pitched squeal and say “Hold on, one more gift!” We would share smiles that said “There it is!” because it happened every year, and then we waited for her to dig through dresser drawers for a gift she bought back in July which she presented to the lucky giftee with a story about its origins.

In the fond spirit of that squeal here are some last minute gifts for you. They’re a day late, but you’ll know I was thinking about you. 

Mom loved to laugh and I hope my gifts elicit a little chuckle for the holidays.

TTFN

* * * * *

“There it is again! Did ya hear it that time?”

“Definitely. I definitely heard something that time.”

* * * * *

Nothing Rhymes With Orange

Yellow is a mellow fellow and

Green is always keen,

Red is said to have some cred and

Blue is lovely, too

But

Nothing rhymes with orange.

Black is always coming back and

White is quite alright,

Gray can sometimes have its day and

Pink will never stink,

BUT

NOTHING RHYMES WITH ORANGE!

* * * * *

“So, yeah, he told me what street the restaurant was on,

but I had no idea it was actually ON THE STREET!”

* * * * *

Verses Versus Curses

I’ve often thought that curses were

A useful tool of language

Like mustard on the meat between 

The layers of a sandwedge.

But please be careful who you’re with 

And what they think of curses,

They may object, or take offense, 

Or maybe something worses.

Poetry instead can be

The mustard in your kitchen, 

When cursing isn’t pardoned much

And DRAT just isn’t bitchen.

[Photo Credits Above: AAA Magazine]

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – A Holly Jolly Christmas

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 19, 2025

PHOTO CREDIT UNKNOWN

One camera, two actors, a director, and a camera operator stood in front of a little A-frame bungalow in the middle of Oxnard Beach, California. 

“That’s Burl Ives!” I said to my cousin Doug. Our Grandpa shushed me. Maybe he didn’t want us to ruin the shot, probably not, he had no experience with show business. I think he didn’t want these men to be bothered by a couple of nine-year-old kids. 

“I have his record, Grandpa,” I told him. “The Big Rock Candy Mountain. I know all the songs—”

Grandpa shushed me again. He’d heard me sing many, many songs by heart and he knew that with the slightest encouragement I would break out my repertoire.

Singing songs has always been a great joy in my life, and I knew at an early age that life really ought to be a musical. No wonder I went into theatre!

Burl Ives was an early part of that love of music. Besides being an actor, he was also a folk singer, and my brother and I just about wore out that record of his folk songs before we outgrew it.

Well, my brother outgrew it. I had it all memorized and those songs became a part of my life’s mental soundtrack.

My mental Holiday soundtrack includes the voice of Burl Ives singing “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Silver and Gold,” and, of course, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Oh, sure, other artists have covered these songs, and done them well, but it’s the voice of Burl Ives I’ve heard in my mind for over fifty years now.

Watching Burl Ives and his costar act out this brief scene on the beach we were their little audience of three. Quite a treat for my summer visit to California!

When they were done, Burl Ives smiled and waved at us before Grandpa led us away. But then the director—probably a second unit director based on what I now know about film and TV—came over to us and kindly told us the name of the TV series, the network, and about when the episode would air.

It was called “The Bold Ones: The Lawyers” and it aired at ten o’clock at night, so I never saw it. VCR’s wouldn’t grow into popular use for another dozen years.

Think of me when you watch the Rudolph special, and know that my little nine-year-old self is singing along with Burl Ives, who, like the main character, “will go down in his…to…ree.”

TTFN

* * * * *

While typing this newsletter I did a search for that TV title on YouTube. It’s there! Full episodes. I skimmed through two of them without finding a beach scene. There are 25 more episodes to look through, so if I find the scene, I’ll let you know. 

My other experience of TV and film is that scenes are sometimes left lying on the editing room floor, as with my IMBD-credited performance in “Right To Die” with Raquel Welch.

Ah, well, that’s show biz!

* * * * *

My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – A Moment With Santa Ed

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 12, 2025

CREDIT: PHOTOFEST

Ed Asner stood at the end of my gurney and put his hand on my ankle by way of encouragement as he was talking to someone else. He moved on before I could thank him but I sure appreciated the warm assurance. 

You may remember Ed Asner from his portrayal of Santa Claus on the movie Elf. Like my daughter says, the holiday season hasn’t really started until we sit down to watch Elf. It’s a Christmas favorite in the Margerum household and I love to pull my “World’s Best Cup of Coffee” mug off the shelf to salute the holidays.

Maybe you remember Asner as the voice of the curmudgeonly Carl Fredricksen in the animated movie Up. He flew his house to South America by equipping it with balloons.

My memories of him date back much further to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” in which he played Mary’s boss in the newsroom of WJM-TV. 

In the very first episode when she interviewed for her job, he asked inappropriate questions about her personal life and she stood up and reprimanded him for it. In response, he walked around his big desk with a half grin on his face and told her, “You know what? You got spunk.”

She modestly tried to thank him for the compliment but he interrupted her.

“I hate spunk.” 

That got a huge laugh from the live audience and the relationship was established. The series ran for nine years. 

His character, Lou Grant, was one of the few—maybe the only—to get a spin-off from a sitcom to create a drama. He was given the job of City Editor at a Los Angeles newspaper in a series that began immediately and “Lou Grant” would run for five years. Ed Asner won Emmy Awards for the same character in each series.

This was the Ed Asner I knew and loved even though, like Mary, I was a little intimidated by him. 

I was on a gurney donating blood along with many more actors in the Screen Actors Guild and Asner was there because he was the SAG President. Maybe he could sense my fear, actors are practiced at sensing the emotions in other people. I hate needles, and his hand on my ankle was just the reassurance I needed. I breathed a little easier after that. 

The only words he could’ve said to improve on the moment would’ve been: 

“You know what? You got spunk.”

TTFN

* * * * *

Screenshot

Last week, a few hours after my newsletter went out, I saw a social media post from Judy Norton that an autographed CD version of her Christmas music is available through her website: judynorton.com.

I had only mentioned where I saw it downloadable.

Downloads are handy but so difficult to wrap, don’t you think?

* * * * *

If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – Gratitude

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 5, 2025

That’s me pushing my snow blower down the length of the driveway—the longest driveway in the neighborhood, thanks Dad—for the second time in one day. The photo credit goes to Debbie who had the good sense to stay inside and take pictures from a warm cozy room.

I heard a podcast recently where the author of a book about mental health was discussing the value of gratitude. It was a fitting discussion for the Thanksgiving Weekend and I got to hear about the science behind brain health and gratitude.

Most of us have heard about endorphins that our body generates in response to exercise and healthy eating, but they’re produced in response to gratitude as well. And a practice of journaling or making mental notes of things we’re thankful for results in us discovering even more reasons to be thankful every day.

I got to discover one such moment.

As I blew snow off the driveway I noticed my neighbor and his son trying to push a car that was spinning its wheels but never finding traction. The end of our cul-de-sac slopes down toward that gray house over my shoulder and the wet snow had accumulated about five inches, leaving the car helpless at the bottom of the street.

I offered to push my snow blower down the street and create two tracks of bare pavement for the women in the car to drive up the hill.

Everyone was happy for the suggestion and I plowed one track down the hill, turned around and positioned the blower to plow another track back up. “Now let’s see if I can get the right distance between the wheels,” I said.

It worked!

As I returned to plowing our driveway I felt a warm glow. Not just because they thanked me for the assistance, but because it made me feel good to be helpful. 

They say it’s better to give than to receive and I think there’s a lot of truth to that old adage. Like the author on the podcast said, I became aware of my gratitude. The opportunity to be of service is always its own reward.

* * * * *

This holiday season, I want to recommend a Christmas album that was recorded by my friend Judy Norton.

If you think you recognize her name, you probably remember her from the TV series “The Waltons” which ran for nine years. She played the oldest daughter, Mary Ellen Walton.

Judy has done plenty more as well, including directing and performing in several musicals. In fact, we met while working together on an original musical. 

When I saw she had recorded a Christmas album I told her that I thought her voice was perfect for this kind of music. I was right. It’s warm, expressive and is accompanied by wonderful arrangements.

It’s available as a download on Amazon and Apple Music, and probably several more venues as well.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

TTFN

* * * * *

My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Giving Thanks

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – November 28, 2025

“We had eight cats,” my wife said, “now we’re down to two! Can you believe it?” 

A few days after the four kittens (huddled in the bathroom sink last week) went to The Humane Society, their fifth littermate walked into our cage and spent a night in the same bathroom before Animal Control transported him or her to join the rest. We’re thankful they’ll all find safe, warm forever homes.

During that same stretch of time, a neighbor across the ravine told me that his mother-in-law wanted a cat to replace her beloved pet of many years.  I told him and his wife about GG (or Gigi) who is pictured above. He has been so responsive to affection over the last few months that I knew he would make an ideal companion.

I have to admit I lost several hours of sleep picturing how GG would or would not go willingly. What if I tried to put him in the carrier and he squirmed away? Would he run scared? Would he even come back?

We left the carrier on the front porch for a couple of days and I tossed in a couple of cat treats to make it an appealing spot. I saw his sister and his mother both enter the carrier to get treats, but never saw him do it. 

On the scheduled day, I let GG and his sister get a good bellyful of food on the porch and then I went outside with a generous helping of affection for GG. At some point I could see he was facing the right direction and I directed him into the carrier, zipping it up before he knew what had happened.

My heart was pounding out a drum roll while I texted our neighbor that GG was in the carrier. “I’ll be right over,” was the reply.

All those months of getting him used to human touch, and all those hours of lost sleep wondering how I would accomplish the capture, and it was all over in a few seconds.

A few days later I got this photo: 

(I cropped out our neighbor’s face, not having gotten permission to show her for this newsletter.)

The report on GG was that he was timid, and not eating yet, but willing to crawl into her lap, which he never did with me. I recently got a follow up message that he’s eating now and using the litter box. The granddaughters are coming to visit soon and will decide on his new name.

I’m writing this several days before Thanksgiving, but we should be in an arctic freeze by the time you read this. We’re thankful that the cat formerly known as GG will be in a cozy home nestled in someone’s lap, soaking up the love the way you see him doing above.

Tabitha and her daughter, Rocket, still need to be caught and spayed before they deliver more litters of kittens. But that’s a story for another day.

I also wrote a check to The Humane Society for their valuable work. I’m grateful that we have a couple of no-kill shelters in our town.

TTFN

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – The Rest of the Story

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – November 21, 2025

HEADLINE: He got cuffed after playing the ‘Imperial March’ at National Guard. Now, he’s suing.

[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/11/10/star-wars-imperial-march-national-guard-washington-dc-first-amendment/87064239007/]

In my October 24 newsletter I invented a phone conversation between a National Guardsman and the DC Metropolitan Police. Turns out that my version of the story is not how the incident played out.

The “Imperial March” dog walker, Sam O’Hara, was confronted and cuffed by the DC Police for 15-20 minutes before they released him. Now he’s suing the city for violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights, backed by the ACLU.

I think my version of the story had a better outcome. 

Now, the City of DC has a lawsuit on their hands because of a National Guard deployment that they didn’t want, and the National Guard has earned a reputation for not being able to handle a little bit of teasing.

By the way, I looked up the 2:02 on O’Hara’s T-shirt. It turns out to be an Angel Number  (02:02) representing balance, harmony, and the importance of relationships in our lives. Isn’t that interesting?

* * * * *

You probably wanted to know about the four kittens in our basement bathroom. There’s a story there, too.

The Humane Society of told me that strays had to be delivered by  Animal Control from the kittens’ jurisdiction, so I called them for two days and got no reply. On the third day I went to the police station and talked to the guy in person.

“Why did you wait so long to contact us?” he asked. 

I assured him that I had been trying for two days. He was surprised to hear it and I went through my phone menu on speaker so he could hear his own outgoing message. 

His coworker figured out the next day that the desk phone had been disconnected. Lots of voicemail to catch up on! Good thing I came in person.

I’ve always found that direct human contact is the best way to accomplish things. Words of understanding are spoken, clarity is established, and difficulties are resolved.

What was 02:02 supposed to represent again? Oh, yes, balance, harmony, and the importance of relationships in our lives.

I suppose I’ve been using that Angel Number for a while now.

TTFN

* * * * *

My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Getting Ideas

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – November 14, 2025

Well these weren’t here when I walked down this path on the way to the park. I wonder if someone dropped them or just abandoned them…

I wonder. 

That’s what I do. I wonder. And ideas begin to take shape. 

I showed this photo to my wife—the photographer—and she complimented me on the composition after I described a different version that didn’t include the path in the distance. Isn’t it exciting to realize what you’ve learned from your partner just by sharing interests?

“Now there’s a writing prompt!” she said, reflecting my thoughts back at me. “It makes me think of someone who was so scared he jumped out of his shoes and ran. Or  maybe a huge eagle grabbed him and flew away leaving just his shoes.”

“Right?” I asked, feeling the juices of more stories start to bubble up in my imagination.

In my newsletter from two weeks ago I wrote about a 12-year-old girl who came to my book signing at Main Street Books. She wants to be a writer and her mother encouraged her to ask me questions. As did I. 

Of course, the most commonly asked question of any writer is “Where do you get your ideas?” Especially when the writer has written a fantastical adventure tale! 

Just as the girl asked me that question, a customer walked past, saw my flyer about the kittens, and exclaimed “Awww, they’re so cute!” as she passed by.

“There’s a story right there,” I told her. Maybe she always wanted to adopt a kitten but lives in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets. Or maybe she had a cat who passed away but looked just like one of these kittens. Everyone has a story to tell, right?” The girl nodded. “If you pay attention to other people and listen to their stories, that’s a great way to begin. And then you can start playing around with those ideas by using your imagination.” 

I didn’t tell her that I was a notorious daydreamer in school. My mom told me I was an easy child because she could set me in the middle of the room with a handful of toys and I would entertain myself for hours. She was right! I remember doing that.

My attraction to theatre was a natural extension of that kind of thinking. Hey, Eric, do you want to join a group of students who all use their imaginations to tell stories and then add sets, costumes, props, lights and more? Hey, sign me up! What a perfect activity for a devoted daydreamer!

Taking my own advice, I made a point of asking the girl what she had written and then listened to her story. I could tell we were kindred spirits, dabbling in fantastical worlds and characters. I could also tell that she appreciated having an adult listen to her like an equal while encouraging her aspirations.

So what flight of fancy did my imagination run to when I saw these shoes?

Maybe they’re lying in wait for you to come along and try them on, because they’ll take you into a world where trees talk, birds read your thoughts, and dreams come true. 

TTFN

* * * * *

Sinking Feeling

Having failed to lure Tabitha into our humane trap, Debbie and I pivoted to catching her kittens instead. Maternal instincts are a pretty major influence so this could be the needed work-around. We only managed to catch four of the five before the early snowfall, but we still hope the last one will give the cage a try.

They’re isolated in our small downstairs bathroom and when I went to visit them, these two were cuddled up together in the sink. That’s like a greeting card photo, right?

* * * * *

If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – What I Learned In Kindergarten

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – November 7, 2025

I had the pleasure of going to see twelve high school students perform a one hour version of this play on Sunday. I had directed all of them in junior high or high school plays over the past seven years. Some backstage students, too, and several more who were in the audience. 

Talk about a proud Papa! I got to sit in the auditorium and appreciate how much each of them had grown, both as actors and young adults.

The new director told me that when the students heard I was coming, someone had said “I hope he’s ready for a lot of hugs.” That really warmed my heart, and after the show I gave and received lots of hugs! 

The play also made me stop and think about what I had learned in kindergarten. 

It’s not easy to remember specifics after sixty years, just a lot of general things. One day we made applesauce, which was delicious! On another day we learned our addresses and phone numbers by pasting pieces of construction paper onto a page and writing on the house cut-outs we had made. 

I’m sure we also learned please and thank you, if we hadn’t already learned those “magic words” by watching Captain Kangaroo on TV.

But what stands out in my mind is the epic incident of a visit from Batman.

You see, my friend Rob had a Batman costume from Halloween and I had my Superman costume. He came up with the idea to wear them to school because, you know, that’d be really cool. 

The next morning when I told my mom what we were going to do, she vetoed the whole notion. Halloween was months behind us and, despite my protestations that Rob was going to do it, the answer was NO.

We walked to the elementary school with Rob in full Batman gear, cowl and all. And when we arrived at the classroom, the kids erupted. 

The Batman TV series was playing every week and the Caped Crusaders were enshrined on lunch pails, cereal boxes, and jars of peanut butter. To have Batman show up in your classroom was a lightning bolt from the sky! 

Have you ever experienced mob behavior? I got my only taste of it in kindergarten.

Like a kennel of loose puppies on a sugar high, the entire classroom rose as one and headed straight for Rob. He did the only logical thing. He ran. 

A double classroom of forty or fifty kindergarteners (it was the Baby Boom, not enough classrooms) chased my friend around the playground like a swarm of bees defending their hive.

I chased him, too. Like I said, mob mentality.

We ran until everyone was exhausted, including the teachers, who were insisting that we come in AT ONCE.

What did I learn? I learned that I was perfectly capable of getting caught up in the moment along with dozens of other children. When Rob later asked me why I chased him, the answer was simple. Because everybody else was doing it.

I expect that the two kindergarten teachers gave us a firm talking-to on how not to behave, but I have no memory of that speech, just the unruly run around the playground under the influence of all those kids. 

What I learned in kindergarten was that crazy things can happen when you’re part of a mob. And you know what? I haven’t done it since!

TTFN

* * * * *

My wife took this picture of Tabitha nursing her kittens on the back deck. I thought I’d share it with you. Talk about a mob. It’s an entire kittenkaboodle! (I figure if I use that word enough it’ll catch on.)

Tabitha entered the humane trap a few days ago and backed out with a mouthful of food without setting off that hair-trigger spring. Clever girl!

* * * * *

My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles