I had me a good time yesterday at the Writers League of Texas conference, where I served on a late-morning Q&A panel with Kathi Appelt and Anne Bustard. Our moderator was Mark Mitchell, and among the 30 or so attendees were Cynthia Leitich Smith and Greg Leitich Smith, who had their own presentation in the afternoon.
I’ve attended lots of conferences, but this was my first time on the invited-guest side of the table. I hope the folks who attended our session got something valuable out of it. I know I did: the realization that not everyone knows the “Day-Glo” name. After the session, a young woman approached me and politely and discreetly asked, “What’s Day-Glo?” When I described it to her, she knew what I was talking about — it was just the name itself that didn’t ring a bell.
I had considered bringing Day-Glo props just in case this sort of thing came up but didn’t want to seem desperate. (There’s really no such thing as drawing only a little attention to yourself when you’re using Day-Glo.) Next time, I think I’ll give desperation a whirl. I’ve been invited to an educators’ conference in early August, and I’ve set a goal of making sure that everyone I meet knows exactly what Day-Glo is.
These wouldn’t be too much, would they?
Yes, a bit. Sorry I couln’t make it…Ks first basketball game. I’m sure you were the pro.
Yes, a bit. Sorry I couln’t make it…Ks first basketball game. I’m sure you were the pro.
Yes, a bit. Sorry I couln’t make it…Ks first basketball game. I’m sure you were the pro.
Noooooo, those aren’t too much. Absolutely not. You should DEFINITELY wear them. Uh huh.
This does lead to the thought of approaching, say, a paint company or someone who might want to help you with, say, Day-Glo temp tatoos or a sample sheet of Day-Glo colors or Day-Glo postcards or…? Cuz once people see the Glo, they know. (TM pending on that last line)
Noooooo, those aren’t too much. Absolutely not. You should DEFINITELY wear them. Uh huh.
This does lead to the thought of approaching, say, a paint company or someone who might want to help you with, say, Day-Glo temp tatoos or a sample sheet of Day-Glo colors or Day-Glo postcards or…? Cuz once people see the Glo, they know. (TM pending on that last line)
Noooooo, those aren’t too much. Absolutely not. You should DEFINITELY wear them. Uh huh.
This does lead to the thought of approaching, say, a paint company or someone who might want to help you with, say, Day-Glo temp tatoos or a sample sheet of Day-Glo colors or Day-Glo postcards or…? Cuz once people see the Glo, they know. (TM pending on that last line)
I was thinking maybe a nice vest or one of them thar hunting caps. You know, like the kind Dick Cheney’s hunting buddies should be wearing…
I still have fond memories of the small package of Day-Glo Crayolas I got once when I was young.
I was thinking maybe a nice vest or one of them thar hunting caps. You know, like the kind Dick Cheney’s hunting buddies should be wearing…
I still have fond memories of the small package of Day-Glo Crayolas I got once when I was young.
I was thinking maybe a nice vest or one of them thar hunting caps. You know, like the kind Dick Cheney’s hunting buddies should be wearing…
I still have fond memories of the small package of Day-Glo Crayolas I got once when I was young.
Luckily, I’m still working small rooms, so it will be a while before I need head-to-toe Day-Glo to get my point across. A Fire Orange hunting cap with earflaps would be just the thing for now…
Luckily, I’m still working small rooms, so it will be a while before I need head-to-toe Day-Glo to get my point across. A Fire Orange hunting cap with earflaps would be just the thing for now…
Luckily, I’m still working small rooms, so it will be a while before I need head-to-toe Day-Glo to get my point across. A Fire Orange hunting cap with earflaps would be just the thing for now…
Hi, I’m the third of Joe Switzer’s five sons. My nephew, David, son of my older brother, Phil, alerted me to your new book. Any chance of an advance copy? My daughter, Jessica Switzer, has been a leading high tech PR executive, who has been high up in Ruderfinn, the second largest private PR company in the US. She’s a whiz and if she liked the book, I’m sure she’d be glad to advise and connect for you to get major media play and help make he book a great success. Did you know about the old Day-Glo theater they recently discovered still glowing in San Antonio after 55 years? It’s being designated as a national monument. We’re very proud of Bob and Joe, but it would be great to set the record straight and let people know the full spectrum of the Day-Glo story. For example: Day-Glo today uses a male action figure called “Glo-Joe” to promote their products. Day-Glo is included in the infamous ” Encyclopedia of Bad Taste”. My dad left Day-Glo in the late 1970’s to start a new venture to cheaply chemically desalinate seawater to help prevent to coming world water crisis — 20 years before collective awareness recognized it as a major global problem. Sadly, Joe died prematurely at 58 before he completed his vision. Yet its a problem I’m working on today — because of his inspiration. In the 1950’s he research BIO-flourescence in algae. Oddly, 20 years later, without knowing of his interest in algae, I launched the first US biotech industry in the mass production and marketing of Spirulina, a microalgae (you can google my name for more info, if your interested). Many of Bob and Joe’s children and grandchildren have done innovative, interesting things — because we grew up in an extended family that benefited from and honored inventive innovation. Perhaps their best legacy, one Bob survived to found, is the Switzer Foundation, which is now a highly respected non-profit educational institution that gives annual grants to graduate students to apply environmental science to solve community problems. My brother, Mark, and Peter, the son of my cousin Paul are currently on the board. The story of Bob and Joe is truly a humorous, inspiring and very human, heart warming example of the source and success of a quinessential all-American brand. My favorite picture is the one of the two of them, grinning arm in arm, in the late 30’s in their early 20’s flush with their first success, emerging from the dark time of the Depression. So many great memories. They loved to invent and their country rewarded them with great success. Which they richly deserved. My father loved the inventive process. His name is on over 100 patents along with my uncle, Bob. I remember when I was a kid he told me once how amazing it was to find practical uses for new discoveries — yet he never graduated from college! Yet all the big corporations copied their ideas at every opportunity. It annoyed him and it puzzled him. He told me once ‘the guys who keep stealing our ideas are smarter than we are! Why don’t they invent something of their own?’ He loved the inventive process so much he was sincerely puzzled by their corporate espionage. He wasn’t naive, but he and Bob had found and nurtured the spark on inventive genius that they were born with — and they knew it was waiting to be discovered in many many others, who never had the chance to find and develop their inventive genious. This is probably the most valuable and fertile message their story can convey. Have faith in your inventive spark and have the courage to develop it into something useful that cxan benefit the world This is the adventure worth living, a truly American adventure. Best wishes on you book. Larry Switzer
Hi, I’m the third of Joe Switzer’s five sons. My nephew, David, son of my older brother, Phil, alerted me to your new book. Any chance of an advance copy? My daughter, Jessica Switzer, has been a leading high tech PR executive, who has been high up in Ruderfinn, the second largest private PR company in the US. She’s a whiz and if she liked the book, I’m sure she’d be glad to advise and connect for you to get major media play and help make he book a great success. Did you know about the old Day-Glo theater they recently discovered still glowing in San Antonio after 55 years? It’s being designated as a national monument. We’re very proud of Bob and Joe, but it would be great to set the record straight and let people know the full spectrum of the Day-Glo story. For example: Day-Glo today uses a male action figure called “Glo-Joe” to promote their products. Day-Glo is included in the infamous ” Encyclopedia of Bad Taste”. My dad left Day-Glo in the late 1970’s to start a new venture to cheaply chemically desalinate seawater to help prevent to coming world water crisis — 20 years before collective awareness recognized it as a major global problem. Sadly, Joe died prematurely at 58 before he completed his vision. Yet its a problem I’m working on today — because of his inspiration. In the 1950’s he research BIO-flourescence in algae. Oddly, 20 years later, without knowing of his interest in algae, I launched the first US biotech industry in the mass production and marketing of Spirulina, a microalgae (you can google my name for more info, if your interested). Many of Bob and Joe’s children and grandchildren have done innovative, interesting things — because we grew up in an extended family that benefited from and honored inventive innovation. Perhaps their best legacy, one Bob survived to found, is the Switzer Foundation, which is now a highly respected non-profit educational institution that gives annual grants to graduate students to apply environmental science to solve community problems. My brother, Mark, and Peter, the son of my cousin Paul are currently on the board. The story of Bob and Joe is truly a humorous, inspiring and very human, heart warming example of the source and success of a quinessential all-American brand. My favorite picture is the one of the two of them, grinning arm in arm, in the late 30’s in their early 20’s flush with their first success, emerging from the dark time of the Depression. So many great memories. They loved to invent and their country rewarded them with great success. Which they richly deserved. My father loved the inventive process. His name is on over 100 patents along with my uncle, Bob. I remember when I was a kid he told me once how amazing it was to find practical uses for new discoveries — yet he never graduated from college! Yet all the big corporations copied their ideas at every opportunity. It annoyed him and it puzzled him. He told me once ‘the guys who keep stealing our ideas are smarter than we are! Why don’t they invent something of their own?’ He loved the inventive process so much he was sincerely puzzled by their corporate espionage. He wasn’t naive, but he and Bob had found and nurtured the spark on inventive genius that they were born with — and they knew it was waiting to be discovered in many many others, who never had the chance to find and develop their inventive genious. This is probably the most valuable and fertile message their story can convey. Have faith in your inventive spark and have the courage to develop it into something useful that cxan benefit the world This is the adventure worth living, a truly American adventure. Best wishes on you book. Larry Switzer
Hi, I’m the third of Joe Switzer’s five sons. My nephew, David, son of my older brother, Phil, alerted me to your new book. Any chance of an advance copy? My daughter, Jessica Switzer, has been a leading high tech PR executive, who has been high up in Ruderfinn, the second largest private PR company in the US. She’s a whiz and if she liked the book, I’m sure she’d be glad to advise and connect for you to get major media play and help make he book a great success. Did you know about the old Day-Glo theater they recently discovered still glowing in San Antonio after 55 years? It’s being designated as a national monument. We’re very proud of Bob and Joe, but it would be great to set the record straight and let people know the full spectrum of the Day-Glo story. For example: Day-Glo today uses a male action figure called “Glo-Joe” to promote their products. Day-Glo is included in the infamous ” Encyclopedia of Bad Taste”. My dad left Day-Glo in the late 1970’s to start a new venture to cheaply chemically desalinate seawater to help prevent to coming world water crisis — 20 years before collective awareness recognized it as a major global problem. Sadly, Joe died prematurely at 58 before he completed his vision. Yet its a problem I’m working on today — because of his inspiration. In the 1950’s he research BIO-flourescence in algae. Oddly, 20 years later, without knowing of his interest in algae, I launched the first US biotech industry in the mass production and marketing of Spirulina, a microalgae (you can google my name for more info, if your interested). Many of Bob and Joe’s children and grandchildren have done innovative, interesting things — because we grew up in an extended family that benefited from and honored inventive innovation. Perhaps their best legacy, one Bob survived to found, is the Switzer Foundation, which is now a highly respected non-profit educational institution that gives annual grants to graduate students to apply environmental science to solve community problems. My brother, Mark, and Peter, the son of my cousin Paul are currently on the board. The story of Bob and Joe is truly a humorous, inspiring and very human, heart warming example of the source and success of a quinessential all-American brand. My favorite picture is the one of the two of them, grinning arm in arm, in the late 30’s in their early 20’s flush with their first success, emerging from the dark time of the Depression. So many great memories. They loved to invent and their country rewarded them with great success. Which they richly deserved. My father loved the inventive process. His name is on over 100 patents along with my uncle, Bob. I remember when I was a kid he told me once how amazing it was to find practical uses for new discoveries — yet he never graduated from college! Yet all the big corporations copied their ideas at every opportunity. It annoyed him and it puzzled him. He told me once ‘the guys who keep stealing our ideas are smarter than we are! Why don’t they invent something of their own?’ He loved the inventive process so much he was sincerely puzzled by their corporate espionage. He wasn’t naive, but he and Bob had found and nurtured the spark on inventive genius that they were born with — and they knew it was waiting to be discovered in many many others, who never had the chance to find and develop their inventive genious. This is probably the most valuable and fertile message their story can convey. Have faith in your inventive spark and have the courage to develop it into something useful that cxan benefit the world This is the adventure worth living, a truly American adventure. Best wishes on you book. Larry Switzer