June 1 -- Flew from LA to NY on Sunday. Not enough time to do anything but unpack, get a haircut...
And then we were off to Boston. Lively event at Pine Manor College hosted by the 5th graders at Ward Elementary School in Newton. Open to the public. Randy and Elliot came, too. Elliot said, "I'll always come with you for a talk -- but no more book signings. Waiting around for an hour and a half while you sign books isn't that much fun." I totally understand. Especially when you're 16 and starving. Especially when you got braces on your teeth that morning. (PS We had a great dinner but it wasn't until close to 9pm and it wasn't easy for Elliot to eat anything.)
(5th graders from the Ward School)
Spent an overnight on the Vineyard with Randy, Elliot, Larry. Got to see our beautiful peonies in bloom after all. Lilacs, too.
Then back to NY for a few days --
again, not enough time to connect with friends but we did manage a couple of meals with Mary and saw a great play August: Osage County.
Then it was off to Minneapolis. Many years ago I had a visit from a young woman, Karen Nelson, who drove cross country and stopped in to see me in Scotch Plains, NJ to explain the Kerlan Collection -- a library devoted to children's books. For years I've been sending manuscripts and papers to them on loan. Now, finally, I was going to see the collection. And it was impressive! Sorry to have missed Karen (Karen Nelson Hoyle) who was away but we did meet some of the library specialists who very kindly assisted me in my research.
I was hoping to find something for George Ella Lyon who is writing a book about Dick Jackson (my first and most extraordinary editor) and how he works his magic with his writers. Going through those boxes was like visiting my past. An emotional experience. Our time was limited so I got to see just a sample of what I'd sent over the years, going back to Margaret.
That night Minnesota Public Radio, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and the Loft Literary Center, sponsored an event at the beautiful Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. It's Garrison Keillor's home base for A Prairie Home Companion. I love that show. It's also where they shot the movie version so I was pretty excited about appearing on stage there.
I was interviewed by Kerri Miller, who was warm, funny, and on top of everything. To listen to the show go to: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/16/midmorning2/
After, another book signing -- ending late -- you know what that means -- scrambled eggs and toast at a diner, my late night comfort food. Thanks everyone in Minneapolis, for making this a great event.
No time to write about politics. But I still hope to get out and work for Obama. Here's a picture of Amanda and Jim with our candidate, taken when Obama was in Albuquerque, giving a speech about women. And what a strong speech that was! Almost as strong as Amanda.
I promise to do a better job of keeping up-to-date over the summer. No deadlines -- that's reason enough to celebrate!
Happy Summer to all of you!
I'm trying to remember how it feels to relax. Will let you know...
Love,
Judy
