Letters from a Nut
by Ted L. Nancy
Overview
From the Publisher
Who is Ted L. Nancy? He's a concerned hotel guest searching for a lost tooth...
He's a superstitious Vegas high-roller who wants to gamble at a casino in his lucky shrimp outfit...
He's the genius inventor of "Six Day Underwear"...
He's a demanding dramatist seeking an audience for his play about his 26-year-old dog, Cinnamon...
He's the proud owner of Charles, a 36-year-old cat who owes his longevity to a pet food company...
He's a loyal fan of the King of Tonga...
He is, in reality, a twisted prankster — a supremely off-kilter alter ego who sends patently ridiculous letters and queries to (and receives surprisingly earnest responses back from) corporate honchos, entertainment conglomerates, national publications, politicians, celebrities and heads of state to everyone, in fact, from the president of the Bon Ami Cleanser Company to U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
Letters From A Nut is an insanely inspired, truly madcap collection of Nancy correspondence, a laugh-out-loud-in-public-places aggregation of official — and officially certifiable — requests, complaints, fan mail and questions that could not possibly have been taken seriously...but, amazingly, were!
My thoughts
It's a cute book with some clever gags. The author writes to companies with ridiculous claims and questions and publishes the replies.
Favorite Passage
Many of the letters are lengthy so I won't put them here, but one example is a letter sent to McCormick & Schmick's stating that he would like to dine at their establishment but he has a serious problem with body odor. He is asking that he be allowed to sit near a trash dumpster so as not to offend other diners. He received a well-written letter back from McCormick & Schmick's stating that they would be willing to seat him in a conference room rather than the dining room.
In another series of letters, he wrote to Station Casinos Inc. stating that he travels with his own vending machine because his is superior to other vending machines. He asked if it would be a problem. Station Casinos Inc. responded that they are unable to accommodate his request, but if he calls ahead they are willing to stock whatever beverage he desires.
