Dedication

This body of work is dedicated
to my father, Ernest J. Collins,
for whom I have my most
cherished memories and with
whom I had the best childhood
ever.
He taught me many things,
amongst them were the
importance of love, compassion
and laughter. Whether he was
telling hilarious stories about the
war (yea, he could even make
that funny), inviting a disabled
trolley car full of strangers in
out of a snow storm or bringing
a stray dog home on a cold, rainy
night, he amazed me.

On rare occasion, he was even
able to rescue a Beagle pup from
an evil, evil pharmaceutical
company, before they conducted
experiments on it.

I'd spend hours training the dog
to sit up in doll chairs at tea
parties.

My Dad came to those little
parties and He, I, the dolls and
the dog had a wonderful time.

Years later, while in an auditorium
full of children watching 'The
Ugly Dachshund', I experienced
uproars of spontaneous, rowdy,
pure laughter. Again I was
reminded of the power
and sheer joy of this simple act.

And so, together, my little Beagle,
Mikey and I offer others the
experience of this wonderful,
free, human emotion...

Here's laughing with you, Pop.