<p>My mother was a couple of years younger than Max Shulman (author of Dobie Gillis) but hung out in the same crowd. My grandmother was a wonderful cook. Max would often show up at my mother’s door with some kid he’d met, introducing him as a cousin who’d come to town to visit. The “cousin” would then say that he’d heard for years about what a great cook my grandmother was, prompting an immediate invitation to dinner. (Grandma, of course, was on the the ploy but always played along!)</p>