What, Me Hurry?

I spoke with John Ficarra, Editor of MAD Magazine for about an hour, spaced over two calls, this last week.

The first was the 40-minute interview to cover the PopMatters exclusive of the 20 Dumbest. The second was a word of thanks for the amazing review package. But this second conversation spiraled into a much longer conversation that touched on personal history.

The take-away was inspiration. John is a singular, intelligent and compassionate voice, a profound and a keen intellect. It's easy to understand how MAD benefits from his leadership.

Talking with him there's a sense of timelessness. A sense that, although history is a tilt-a-whirl, the way through is to give yourself that critical distance that allows for a measured response. A sense that if you hurry into opinions or responses, you've already lost the game.

That's most likely why, 60 years on, every page of MAD reads like FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. (The meadows baby, the meadows). And that, is just about the highest compliment I've got to give.