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April 27, 2005
First week of the tour!
This has been some week. Did two "home" bookstores in Providence, the Brown U. Bookstore and Books on the Square (sold out at Books Sq.), and it wasn't even packed with a claque of my family (who are mostly in Minnesota).
Newton, MA's Newtonville Books' Books -n- Brews series was extremely amiable, as the owner, Tim, takes everyone out for a drink at an excellent restaurant next door - he's asked me back for the fall, and believe me, I will be there.
I also did a reading at the Cambridge Center for New Words, not technically a bookstore, but a wonderful place. Was VERY nervous abour driving in Cambridge during rush hour, had plenty of time to contemplate the idiocy of the auto as a mode of transporation while inching along for an hour in the Big Dig. But the Parking Gods were smiling on me, as I actually found some on-street parking, although the car next to mine had a boot on it, which made me rather anxious.
Yesterday was the UConn Co-op. More driving! I left plenty of time, as the Mapquest directions had weird arrows everywhere -> <-- ^ V seemingly defying the laws of physics. I missed one of the obscure little roads (appropriately named Bedlam) and drove on and on and on believing Bedlam was just around the bend (it was). Adding to the complexity was the fact that all the towns along the road were SO small they were not on any map. It wasn't until I saw signs for Hartford that I realized I'd overshot by a good 45 mins - uh oh.
Trusting in Murphy's law - I pulled over (like a good citizen, plus didn't want to make the panicky call AND drive at the same time) to call, only to find I had copied down the fax # of the store! Eeee! Once I was back on track, I also got lost in Storrs, as Mapquest told me I should be seeing the campus in 3 miles, and after 4.5 I saw nothing except a few empty-looking houses *and* the town's name did not match up with the town I was looking for. I stopped at a fire station and NO ONE was home - were they at a fire? Knocked on a few doors and heard scary dogs barking. Finally I flagged down a policeman who directed me to drive, say, another 100 feet until I saw the campus.... Mapquest is not infallible!
Ok, I came in all wild eyed and mussed, twenty minutes late! But my host, Suzy Staubach, was extremely accommodating, or maybe all the writers look like that. Had a good reading, she asked me back, too. I'm definitely coming back, as now I know the way. With gas prices, I think I spent about $50 doing this reading.
On the drive back, I spotted multiple gun stores, AND a "country-style auction" going on. I almost felt like I was back in northern Minnesota...
I had that great after-the-reading adrenaline thrill, but then I listened to NPR about all these people not having health insurance - too sick to work, no work no insurance - they called it a "death spiral" and cited statistics about how people without insurance seem to die a lot faster, for some reason, and that brought me back to earth....
Posted by marielee at April 27, 2005 5:54 PM
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