I love...Shel Silverstein.

If I could have a dinner party with any three celebrities, living or dead, the first one I'd call is Shel Silverstein*.

There is so much to love about him, where to begin?

I'll start with "The Giving Tree", which is still one of my favorite books. In elementary school I was in a play where we acted that story out and I was the tree! (I should note that my parents don't recall this play, which either means I didn't tell them about it at the time or it was a dream, but either way...I was the tree!) If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. And of course there are his many other books, like "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "A Light in the Attic", just to name a few.

As if his books alone aren't a good enough reason to love him, here is some "did you know" info about ol' Shel:

• He wrote songs, including "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" (which was featured in one of my favorite movies: "Almost Famous").
• He drew cartoons for Playboy magazine.
• He and I were both born on September 25th.

Shel Silverstein was a big inspiration for me as I grew up and got into writing. He didn't fit into one mold. He wrote for both children and adults. He wrote things that didn't always make sense, but that you couldn't forget. He made it okay to let your imagination completely take over.

Today I have some of his books placed around my apartment - available to be read at any moment. And hanging above my desk is one of his poems that reads:
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossible the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me...
Anthing can happen, child.
Anything can be."

I love it, and I'm listening to you, Shel!

(*Note: If you're wondering...the second celebrity invited to my dinner party would be Prince and the third celebrity is TBD.)