One Day at a Time

All I can say is "eww." Here's the headline (and link to the article) from yesterday's Baltimore Sun: "Author banned after nudity remark." When a 10 year-old girl asked author Richard Stack to autograph her forehead, he said he would if she climbed on a lunch table and took off her clothes.

His argument: I responded to her request with something equally ludicrous. "I am confident everyone there connected with my visit knows that nothing improper was intended."

It doesn't matter if "nothing improper was intended." You just don't make remarks like that to or about children! Period! If you're an author and you don't autograph body parts, just say so. Say, "I'm sorry, but I only autograph paper or printed materials."

I definitely know about saying the first thing that pops into my head, and I've definitely gotten myself into awkward situations because of that. But jeez-o-pete!