Good Morning, Everyone.

Encyclopedia Brown. Not familiar with the name? You can't be serious!! How could you not? Didn't the author of the "Encyclopedia Brown" series of books win a Caldecott Medal many years ago? (What's that? You don't know what the Caldecott Medal is? SHAME ON YOU!)

(Do not despair. I forgot exactly what it was myself--No matter! it's 2008!! GOOGLE IT!!)

Anyway, Donald J. Sobol was the author of the entire "Encyclopedia Brown" series of books. There were SO MANY. I believe that I read them ALL. It pains me that there are movies about these OTHER cats (The Hardy Boys, their female counterpart--what was her name?) and NONE of ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN!! Come on!! BUGS MEANY?  he would've been the BEST!! I could see ANTHONY HOPKINS playing  BUGS MEANY. Nevermind that they were all teenagers! Who cares! Oh--and Encyclopedia could be played by JOHNNY DEPP!

(Who am I kidding--Encyclopedia Brown isn't "dark" enough for Johnny Depp!!)

I'D play Encyclopedia Brown!! (Hey, if they could make the KINGPIN & NICK FURY into African-American characters, why can't they do the same for Encyclopedia Brown?!?!  I'd take Encyclopedia Brown to NEW HEIGHTS.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

He had a love interest!

(I think I'm lying--but hey, If I'M starring in the full-length feature film, I'LL NEED A LOVE INTEREST!!!)

(Off topic--GO AND DOWNLOAD J. HOLIDAY's ALBUM. NOW! LEGALLY!) (I don't believe that I have to add that!! and we'll be signing up J. Holiday for the Soundtrack!!)

Where was I?

Oh yes. LOVE INTEREST.

(no--you STILL don't know who Encyclopedia Brown is, do you? I'm WHETTING YOUR APPETITE--it's called SUSPENSE. Have patience!! Cheese and rice!!*)

Love interest? Beyonce!

(psyche!) SO not my style.

(off topic part two: J.holiday's album is REALLY on point. Why does "SUFFOCATE" fit the bill at this point in time?)

(...and don't you hate when the name of the song is hardly what YOU think it is? I thought it was "Can't Breathe..."  he says that SO MANY MORE times than "Suffocate"!! Okay--I'm sorry--back to Encylopedia!!)

Love interest--someone...NOT run of the mill. A...singer! a stunningly BEAUTIFUL singer. and the best thing about it--she wouldn't sing not ONE NOTE for the ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE FULL-LENGTH FEATURE FILM.

(Suspense, remember?)

I don't even want the singer to sing BACKGROUND during the CREDITS.

(Yea--that's it.) Can you see it?

I CAN.

okay--enough suspense.

Encyclopedia Brown was a teenager. Nothing spectacular. Skinny little kid. No powers, No secret laBORatory (you have to say it like that--la-BORE-ah-tore-ee") No bells and whistles of ANY kind. Encyclopedia's REAL name was Leroy Brown**. Small little scrawny white kid, not a smart-aleck by any means. just PLAIN Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown.

He rode--

SALLY!

Sally was the name of his...

...oh damn. She WASN'T his love interest!!! she was more like his BODYGUARD!! I remember!! she would stand up to BUGS MEANY!!!

No matter!! Suspense, remember? It'll draw the crowds in!!

Encyclopedia and Sally will be like Sam and Diane!!

Tony and Angela!!

Jay and Beyonce!!

(scratch the last two--they got hitched too soon!)

Encyclopedia and Sally will start to grow on each other in part 4!! 

(START to grow!! )

START. The female star will have equal billing rights and she HAS to sign on for EVERY movie. (sure, I actually LIKED the NEW lady in the "Silence of the Lambs"*** series--but how often does THAT happen?)

Where was I again? oh yeah!

Anyway--he rode around town on his bike, solving the local mysteries.

That's it.

As a matter of fact, Encyclopedia Brown was MacGuyver as a kid. That's it!

(no--not REALLY. but picture it.)

No bells and whistles, no super-model look--NOTHING SPECTACULAR.

He rode around town solving neighborhood mysteries. He had his own little mystery solving business. JUST HIM. (Sally would help out every once in awhile.)

No talking dogs.

No energy-enhancing vegetables.

No secret life as a rock star.

Just plain ol' Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown.

(Is it just me, or did you just see the trailer?: "No talking dogs, No energy-enhancing vegetables, no secret life as a rock star...Just plain ol' Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown."

"COMING SOON."

(stay tuned--watch me come up with the poster!!)

WHERE WAS I?!?!?!

As a kid--I was INTRIGUED by Encyclopedia Brown...Just for the simple fact that he was so-----------plain.

Not trying to fit in, not into the girls, not into his "look" or where he stood in the world. He found his niche and he was THERE. That's all he did. You had a mystery? Call Encyclopedia. His father (it's all coming back to me now!!) was THE CHIEF OF POLICE in their small town. NO ONE got away with ANYTHING because the MASTERMIND of the town was a KID.

Encyclopedia Brown was a BAD MOTHERFUCKER.

(I'm  laughing my ass off right now--you gotta see me!!)

That's it! Donald J. Sobol penned an ENTIRE SERIES of Encyclopedia Brown books and I wore out MANY a library card reading EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Each book had about ten mysteries, leaving you stumped at the end of each story.

(I'm laughing and CRYING at the same time now.--EVERTHING IS STARTING TO MAKE SENSE NOW.)

At the end of each story, Encyclopedia always found out who the culprit was.  Then, the reader was asked "HOW?" . At the end of the BOOK, was a detailed explanation as to what clues Encyclopedia used to solve the mystery. The DRAW to me was that NOTHING was hidden. All the clues were given in the story and revealed to you in the explanation.

So--first--I just liked Encyclopedia for who he was.

Second--I liked the whole "mystery" aspect.

THEN--I got hooked into PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS.

Jumping to the back of the book was no longer fun to me--I didn't want to be told HOW Encyclopedia solved the mystery--I wanted to solve it MYSELF.

The clues were in the story!!!

and if I simply paid attention to EVERYTHING, I could solve them too.

(I'm crying right now--I kid you not.)

...if I simply paid attention to EVERYTHING I could solve them too.

AND I BEGAN TO.

(you have NO IDEA how much MONEY I owe to the Mount Vernon Public Library. you have NO IDEA how many times I got in TROUBLE because my mom had to pay for overdue books. You have no idea how I couldn't explain to my mom why I STILL had these books!)

"Junior!! you can read!! Why haven't you read those books yet?!!!! Why do you beg me to bring you to the library, start reading the books before we even GET TO THE CAR, yet FAIL TO FINISH THEM?!?!?!"

I wanted to tear the last section of the book OFF of each and every one. but I couldn't--they didn't belong to me. So, I'd read ONLY the mysteries, over and over again, until I solved the mysteries.

MYSELF.

(Good Ol' Encyclopedia Brown.)

Years later--I worked as a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Counselor at a halfway house for the mentally ill. With an uncanny ability it seems, to be able to pinpoint when a client had began to deteriorate. (mentally) I never knew why! There's nothing special about Michael! I saw after awhile, though--especially after it was brought to my attention--that I seemed to have a knack for...

...paying attention to detail.

EVERY detail.

EVERY detail.

(Good Ol' Encyclopedia Brown!)

A couple of weeks ago, I took babygirl to the library to get her very first library card. (It was Daddy-Daughter-Doggy Day!!) She had been ON her mother and I to take her--and I remember doing the same with MY mom. She was SO happy. Imagine MY happiness. Taking my daughter to the SAME library I went to as a kid.

and it hadn't changed a BIT.

(Well, except for the computers)

...It hadn't changed a bit.

So--we're there--and she's SO excited!! and all she wanted to know was HOW MANY WAS SHE ALLOWED TO BORROW.

(and you KNOW she took exactly THAT MANY.)

(I love you, AmberStorm.)

SO--we're looking.

and I see "ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN."

and it was like I opened the book and the entire world got sucked up into it!!!

(I tried to explain it to Am, but she couldn't have cared less--if it ain't about the teen with the rock star alter ego or the other teen with ESP, she ain't trying to hear it!!)

BUT YOU KNOW I SUBSITUTED TWO OF HER BOOKS FOR TWO OF ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN'S!!!

(never got around to reading them--and since then--they've gone back. However, I'll be back for 'em!!)

Amber and I constantly go over her homework--and she'll tell you--PRIOR TO our library trip--PRIOR TO me remembering all about Encyclopedia--I've been telling her the SAME THING.

ALWAYS pay attention to detail.

That's it. A special shout-out to Mr. Donald J. Sobol. Thank You. If you never recieved a Caldecott Medal, I'll get right on seeing how you CAN.

And another EXTRA SPECIAL Shout-out to the individual who provided the inspiration for this entry. I now know that I have to be inspired to write--you've provided me with MORE THAN ENOUGH inspiration. Thank you.

Paying attention to details: didja notice the asterisks? you know what they mean don't you? more importantly, did you pay attention to the CLUES?

(If you noticed no clues, they weren't meant for you!!)

(if you noticed "obvious" ones, they were coffee grounds****)!!!!

*--my mother didn't like when I used the Lord's name in vain. when I found this out, it was too late, I had already begun. I picked this up in my readings--what does it sound like? I say this instead. In rememberance of my mom.

**--Go to Youtube and enter this name: "Leroy Jenkins" into the search engine. (try adding "WoW" to it to make sure you get what i'm speaking of). This is HILARIOUS. I have a special vein of "internet humor" that goes over the heads of a large part of the general public who don't explore it like so many others (and I). Do yourself a favor and try NEVER to pull a "Leroy Jenkins"

***--YOU do the research. I forgot both of their names! I refused to watch it after the first actress jumped ship--but I was such a fan that I couldn't resist--I actually LIKED the second one!! (actress, I mean.) Anyway--I said it was the "Silence of the Lambs" series---I BELIEVE it should be referred to as the "Manhunter" series, since this was first. WAITAMINNIT? That was the guy playing the HULK!!)

****---Coffee grounds. (A result of too much tv!!) Coffee grounds, as I've seen, are what drug dealers (in the movies!!) use to mask the scent of drugs so that the drug sniffing dogs can't locate them. So, whenever I need to "throw someone off" of a trail that I've "left behind", I'll say "coffee grounds". Sue me! 

it's 6 minutes to 5!!! Didja see what time I started? Cheese and rice!!!

(notice how I never told you WHY he was named "Encyclopedia"? Despite the fact that it's SO obvious, why not find out for yourself?)