Will the Real Annie Please Stand Up?
Did any of you watch that 50’s-60’s show called ‘What’s My Line?’ where four people come on stage and say something like, “I’m Annie, and I’m an author”?
Only one of them was really an author named Annie but they all answered author-ish questions from a panel of celebrities (Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf) who would then guess which contestant was the real Annie.
Finally the host, John Charles Daly, would say, “Will the real Annie please stand up?” and the audience would gasp at how cleverly the contestants fooled the panel.
That’s how I felt back in January when Elizabeth wrote about reading Anne LaMott’s book Small Victories.
The gist of our comments was:
Me: “I’m so glad you are enjoying Annie Dillard …
Elizabeth: “Who is Annie Dillard?”
BAM!
I’d done it again. Been flummoxed by the Annies.
bemuzin 