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The story behind Mr. Greenbug

Mr. Greenbug began with the book’s last page and moved forward from there; well, actually, backward. Either way, Greenbug’s inspiration came about after watching a short documentary on fireflies. Having been raised in Southern California, where fireflies are as rare as hen’s teeth, the first fireflies I ever saw were on Disneyland’s, Pirates of the Caribbean ride. In later years I marveled at the real ones on a neighborhood walk in Montgomery, Alabama. Upon seeing the first flash I have to say that I was as thrilled as if I were a kid at an amusement park. SPOILER ALERT: The real ones are not as bright as Walt’s Imagineers had made them. Mr. Greenbug Flies to the Sun began as small scraps paper that I slipped into my pants pocket at work or on my nightstand at home. As the paper began to spill over onto the floor, a small cardboard box was used as the “trash paper” grew in volume. I wrote on paper towels, Sticky Notes and sheets of paper torn out of a legal pad. At one point, I even used toilet paper, 2-ply, non-quilt. Soon the collection of mismatched paper in the box had a character […]
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