I received this a few days ago from Frank Jacobs and was negligent in not putting it up here sooner. Frank is, of course, the longtime writer for MAD magazine and my favorite funny poet and lyricist in the business. He also, years ago, wrote a wonderful book about the history of MAD and its publisher, William M. Gaines, which is outta-print but which I hope is coming back in an updated/revised edition. I'm helping him find the right publisher.
Here's a little something Frank sent and suggested I might post here…
Bill Gaines felt a special tie to Haiti. The late founder and publisher of MAD magazine vacationed there often and enjoyed introducing others to that country's charm. Yes, charm, which for the less traveled seems hard to believe.
In 1960, Bill instituted the MAD Trip — an annual outing for the magazine's staff and contributors. The first trip took us, not surprisingly, to Haiti, which to this day evokes warm memories.
I remember the hotel-resort where we stayed, its top-drawer service and excellent cuisine. I remember the Iron Market, where local entrepreneurs sold their handcrafted mahogany statues and masks. Haggling was a local custom and fully expected.
I remember entering a curio shop where the proprietor said "You must be from MAD." I said I was and asked how he knew that. He smiled. "All Haiti knows that."
The people warmed to us, not just because we brought in dollars but because, it seemed to me, that friendliness was an ingrained way of life.
Today I see scenes of the catastrophe and wonder how Bill, if he were still around, would feel.
He would most likely contribute financially to Haiti's recovery.
And he would be heartsick.
The whole world is heartsick about this. Well, maybe not Rush Limbaugh but the world of human beings. I haven't written more about it here because I have nothing to say that we all aren't thinking when we see the photos, watch the news reports, etc. Something like this cannot be absolutely prevented but you'd like to think we could someday rechannel our resources away from some of the stupider things we do with time and money, and put it towards helping folks like that before and after such a tragedy. I never even went to Haiti and it depresses me so I can imagine how visitors with fond memories feel about all this.