Edith Wharton reports bringing her first effort at story writing to her mother. The eleven-year-old author’s opening sentences were ” ‘Oh, how do you do, Mrs. Brown?’ said Mrs. Tompkins. ‘If only I had known you were going to call I should have tidied up the drawing-room.’” To which her mother’s icy reply was: “Drawing-rooms are always tidy.

NOW… AT LAST…THE NEW AMAZING

Gem of genius slowly blazing.

The one man who, without a doubt

Knows what this business is about.

The man who screams, when words are changed,

That all the changers are deranged.

Still, were he quieter or politer,

He wouldn’t be a copywriter.

Now, straight from the “you couldn’t make this up if you tried” department comes news that David McCusker has — you guessed it — swine flu.

Born the son of Baptist Preacher in Virginia, he briefly attended The University of Virginia until he was expelled for drunkenly crashing a friends motor car during the prohibition era. Luckily he had just won 100 hundred dollars as a prize for a state wide chemistry contest that served as his final exam for first year Chem 101. While other students wrote novel chemical fourmulae as their submission,Reeves , not knowing anything about chemistry having spent the semester drinking, dancing and gambling, submitted an essay titled ” Better Living Through Chemistry” He would later use this title for DuPont campaign. The 100 Dollars was enough money to move to Richmond where he was hired at a new bank that was hiring young contest winners. Finding that he was horrible at accounting but verbally gifted he began writing advertisements. He soon moved to New York City to found Ted Bates & Co with Ted Bates.