Where the Wild Things Are

Key West - No, I'm not talking about the democratic primary or John McCain though things are getting pretty wild. Every day it's something else. I'm still ardently supporting Barack Obama (see my post of April 1). And with the Indiana and North Carolina primaries looming I've been obsessed. If I weren't working on a tight deadline I'd be in one of those states right now. Instead, I have very different Wild Things (forgive me, Maurice) in mind this morning. Key West is a small city and we live close to our neighbors on small lots so I've been surprised, to say the least, by some of our recent visitors....

CHAPTER ONE
Iggy

Yes, this creature sometimes allows me to see him. Here he is at our outdoor dining table, right outside my study. Interesting, isn't he? So prehistoric!

I've been told that after iguanas eat they need to rest their bellies on a warm slab in order to digest. Concrete around a pool is a favorite choice on a sunny day. And once they've digested -- well, they're ready to poop. If you're lucky they'll let it out on the concrete, not in the pool (they love to swim). Not that I'm happy having to clean up iguana poo around the pool, but I'd be less happy if it landed in the water.

I know where "Iggy" lives. In a tree near the pool. And I know what he likes to eat. He's especially fond of a flowering vine climbing the wall outside my bedroom. I know he's got friends, too, because sometimes they congregate on the roof of our house. Not that I can resist watching when he's around but I've been warned he, like all iguanas, carry salmonella on their skin, so no touching!


CHAPTER TWO
Free Range

George parked the jeep at the post office in town and when he came back he found an egg on the seat. An egg! The post office is a favorite hang-out for local chickens. For those who don't know, chickens are protected in Key West. They're all over town. If I were a chicken I'd want to live here. So George found this egg in the jeep and knew it was unlikely that some passerby had dropped it there. This means while he was gone a chicken flew into the jeep (it's open) sat down, laid an egg, then left. George was pretty excited. He brought the egg home, refrigerated it, and meant to eat it right away. But by the time he got around to it a week had passed and without thinking he mixed it in with his scrambled eggs one Sunday morning. I kept waiting for something bad to happen. But nothing did. After all, it was truly an egg from a free range chicken.



CHAPTER THREE
Wolverine

We were awakened at 4:30 in the morning by screaming and splashing in the pool. Our bedroom is at one end of the pool and we sleep with the doors partly open. You know how it is when you're awakened from a deep sleep -- neither of us could figure out what was going on. But when we looked we saw what appeared to be two animals at the side of the pool, and another in it. They were screaming in distress. Pretty scary, actually. George ran for his camera but he's like one of those guys with a gun who keeps the gun locked in one place and the ammo locked in another. He finally managed to get his camera out of its zippered case but finding and attaching the flash was something else. Meantime, another of the animals either fell or jumped into the pool, trying to rescue the first. My initial reaction was, we have to save them! But at this point we didn't even knowwhat they were. By the time George got it together and stepped outside with his camera, the two who were poolside (by then only one was left struggling in the water) lumbered off, leaving just the one screaming swimmer.

When he finally made it out, George caught him on camera. Looks like he was in shock (the animal, not George). We put the picture up on the computer screen but it wasn't clear to us at 4:45am what it was. Wolverine? George asked. Do we have wolverines in Key West? We went online to check. No wolverines. But look at that face. Raccoons? Yes. there's a south Florida raccoon -- a smaller, blonder version of the kind we know so well from the northeast -- but these guys were neither smaller nor blonder. They were the real deal. If it hadn't been the wee hours I like to think we'd have spotted that striped tail from the get-go. Wet and bedraggled, here's our 4am swimmer!

All of this on a small, heavily populated island just 90 miles from Cuba.
xx Judy

Dancing Queen

Key West -- On Friday mornings I take a tap dancing class. My teacher, Bruce Moore, is the best! I come home singing and dancing every week. And Bobby Nesbitt is in my class! Bruce and Bobby are a talented duo who perform in Key West, sometimes together. Bobby is a piano man with a great voice. Bruce was a Broadway baby, who sings and dances. The rest of my class is a varied group -- everyone from grandmas, to brave guys who've always wanted to tap, to anyone who loves to dance and can get out of work from 11-noon.

Some learned to tap as kids and their feet have never forgotten. Some started last year when Bruce announced his class. I started when I moved from New Mexico to New York in the mid '80s and discovered a tap class over the local bagel shop. I was 45 at the time. Little did I know that Bob Audy was one of the best tap teachers in the city. I stood in the last row of the basic beginner class for the longest time, learning from those in front of me. For a couple of years I was obsessed. Forget about writing. Tap was all I wanted to do.

(Back in the day - 25 years ago!)

Many of the students were Broadway hopefuls. Some were preparing for auditions. I've never been in such good shape as I was then. I was determined to do double pull-backs for my 50th birthday, but I didn't make it. Oh well.
Growing up in Elizabeth, NJ, I took ballet lessons, starting in the baby class with Elsa Heilich. Miss Heilich (as we called her) wore beautiful outfits to teach. I remember her all in red with red ballet slippers. Her hair was pitch black (now that I think of it, probably dyed). There was piano music. We wore dotted swiss ballet dresses.

In 3rd and 4th grades, when I lived in Miami Beach, my mother found a dance/acrobatic studio. But it was nothing like Miss Heilich's. I was enrolled in a Saturday morning class. The star of our class wore a tutu and could do perfect cartwheels and backbends. She had toe slippers! I hated her. Okay, I didn't really hate her, I envied her. No matter how many times I practiced my cartwheels up and down the beach I never got both legs up straight.
That year we all saw Margaret O'Brien and Cyd Charise in The Unfinished Dance. The local shoe store claimed they had the actual slippers that Margaret wore in the movie. They held a contest -- I've written about this in Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. The winner would get a free trip to Hollywood and maybe a screen test (my memory is vague here, confused between reality and what I wrote in the book). But of this I'm sure -- my fantasy was winning that contest. Alas, my feet were too narrow to fill out Margaret' s slippers. Big disappointment.

Back in New Jersey I wanted to take tap class but my mother considered tap vulgar. Jewish girls took ballet, others took tap. So I never learned.
Cut forward -- I stopped going to Bob Audy's tap classes after 5 years when he moved his studio to midtown and I realized my writing was suffering because my focus was on tapping. Soon George and I were coming to Key West for the winter. I always packed my tap shoes just in case. Once or twice I wore them to parties where I threatened to dance but never did.

And then, magically, Bruce Moore announced that he'd be giving tap classes! His classes remind me of Bob Audy's. Okay, there's no piano. And we're in a small room at the back of a gym (Body Zone South) in a strip mall . And sometimes there's a guy grunting on a mat on the floor. But none of that matters. Because we're dancing!

There's nothing like tapping to take you out of whatever else is going on in your life. For one hour you're thinking only of your feet, the beat, and the thrill of learning a new routine. Better yet, you're not thinking at all. It's just happening! Thanks, Bruce, for bringing tap to Key West!

Twenty-five years have past since my first tap class. But here I am with Bruce, doing a triple time step.

Why I Support Obama

Key West -- if you've been reading my blog you know I'm supporting Barack Obama for President. Some people have asked why so I've decided to share my reasoning with you.

Integrity + Intelligence + Inspiration = Obama

The first time I was old enough to vote in a presidential election John Kennedy was running against Richard Nixon. I was 22, married, expecting my first child and living in suburban New Jersey. My husband, a lawyer, belonged to the Young Republicans club. He expected me to help his cause by making phone calls urging people to vote for Nixon.

I never made those calls. And on election day I was thrilled to pull the lever, casting my vote for Kennedy. I’ve never responded well to being told what to do. I prefer to make up my own mind.

Like so many others, I was inspired by John Kennedy and excited about the possibilities for our country. Coming out of the sleepy, complacent fifties, he made me believe that change was possible. I believed in him the way my parents believed in Roosevelt. I remember the night Roosevelt died in April, 1945. I was seven years old and just recovering from chicken pox. When my parents heard the news on the radio, they fell into each other's arms, crying. I cried, too, although I didn't have a clue.

My generation wept the same way when we lost John Kennedy. Then Martin Luther King. Then Bobby Kennedy. We mourned what might have been. In the dark days that followed, those of us who were young and idealistic were forced to grow up fast. I watched the Vietnam war unfold on TV as I played on the floor with my two small children. I became a skeptic about politics and politicians. Yet there was never an election when I didn’t vote. For me, voting was both obligation and privilege.

I’ve never spoken publicly about my politics. But I’m speaking out now because at last we have a candidate who makes me believe again. A candidate who I see as America’s best hope, a candidate with the potential to be transforming, one who inspires not just my grandson’s generation, but my own, and my children’s. Friends who know Barack Obama personally, friends whose opinion I trust, tell me he’s the real deal, and I believe them. As Bill Richardson said when he endorsed Obama, “There’s something special about this guy...”

I have friends who disagree. They tell me it’s disloyal to support Obama when we have the chance to elect the first woman president in this country. They say I’m betraying the Women’s Movement and all that we fought for. I would be the first to stand up and thank the Women’s Movement for giving me the courage to change my life, and I am forever grateful to those who came before me.

There was a time when I supported Hillary (in her run for Senate) but that was before she voted to authorize war in Iraq, then supported Bush a second time in his confrontationist policy on Iran. This election is about choosing a leader whose judgment we respect. I can't respect or trust the judgment that led to those votes. And I'm deeply disturbed by the growing anger and resentment of some Hillary supporters. I’m starting to believe them when they say they’ll vote for McCain (or not vote at all) before they’ll vote for Obama. What does that say about their agenda?

My daughter experienced sexual harassment on the job as a young, commercial airline pilot. She'd planned on voting for Hillary in the Massachusetts primary. I respect her right to make her own decisions. But days before the election she was bombarded by fliers from Hillary's campaign, so negative and hateful she began to rethink her vote. Like many feminists she’s discovered it’s not always about gender (any more than it should be about race or religion). Feminism means we get to make our own decisions. We get to decide who we’re voting for based on our belief in who will make the best candidate, who will make the best president.

Whoever is elected in November is going to face a daunting challenge. No one person can clean up the mess it took 7 and ½ years to create. That's why I want the calm, thoughtful candidate I believe will surround himself with the best and the brightest. I believe the decisions Obama makes will be made based on what’s best for this country. And he's not bringing eight years of baggage into the White House.

I want a president who can make us proud as Americans. How great would it be after 7 and ½ years to have an articulate leader, an eloquent speaker, one who is not only willing to talk, but to listen? I believe Obama will be that kind of president. Plus, he has a sense of humor. He has two young daughters and a working wife. He's smart. And let's not forget the magic. Nothing wrong with having the ability to connect with people around the world --young, old, and in-between.

You know, every year at this time I’m asked to send “words of wisdom” to graduating seniors around the country. I tell them I think the single most important part of their education is to learn to think for themselves – to weigh the pros and cons then make up their own minds. I ask them to take responsibility for their own actions. I’d like to see all our candidates do the same.

In some ways an election is like life – a lot of muck comes your way. It’s hard sometimes to slog through it. It’s exhausting. It can be scary. You can feel like you’re drowning in it. You’ve got to work hard to pull yourself up and out of it, then to rise above it. We need a leader who can help us do that, then pull us together. That's why I'm supporting Barack Obama.

All I ask is that you make an informed decision. This election is too important for us, and for our kids and grandkids, to decide in any other way.

Thanks,
Judy

Highlights

Key West -- The highlight of the week was a 5 day visit from Larry and Elliot. Elliot had a 2 week spring break. This was good news for him, but I can't help thinking, what are working parents supposed to do? Randy is lucky. She was able to take a week off and go skiing with Elliot (he's a snowboarder, she's a skier). Then she went back to work, Elliot flew to Key West, and Larry came down to hang out with him. I love watching the two of them together. It must be great to grow up with a fun uncle. I got smart this time and kept my mouth shut (no reminders about sunscreen, or annoying questions about anything). But when Elliot ordered squid ink pasta with clams, mussels, and shrimp, I had to hold my tongue. (I'm allergic to shellfish and get uncomfortable when he insists on eating it, afraid that maybe he'll be allergic, too.) But nothing bad happened, not even from the sushi -- yes, sushi! Looking the other way wasn't as hard as I'd thought and it made for a relaxing, fun time for all of us.

Here are three generations of my guys: (from left) Larry, Elliot, and George.

I left some books in Elliot's room. I find the only way to get a teenager to read a book you think he should read, or even a book you think he'd like, is to leave a pile of books around and let him decide. He picked up Daria Snadowsky's Anatomy of a Boyfriend and read it in an afternoon. It's not unlike Forever. At the bookstore we bought a couple of Nick Hornby books -- seems to me a 16 year old would really enjoy his writing. But Elliot chose a completely different book to read on the plane going home. Hey, reading anything is a positive step! Now I'll get to read the Nick Hornby books before sending them on to him.

The highlight of the week before -- a visit from Michael Casey -- his first trip to Key West. Michael's been highlighting my hair since -- well, since I first got highlights about 27 years ago. My hair hasn't yet turned gray. Strange, I know. It just keeps getting darker. Michael says it's genetic. He's the best, not just at being a hair colorist, but being a friend. He lives in NY and knows everything about the theater. So, when we come to town I ask him what plays we absolutely can't miss. While he was here he also highlighted my hair. Wow -- this was a first for me -- a home visit. Thanks, Michael!



Please don't ask how I'm doing with my book that's due in April, Friend or Fiend. Let's just say we have no more visitors scheduled for this season and tomorrow -- yes, tomorrow! -- I'm going to settle down, focus, and not allow anything to distract me from my writing. Except maybe politics. Speaking of -- am thrilled that Bill Richardson endorsed Obama. And what a brilliant speech Obama delivered this week on race. I watched/listened twice. I know exactly what Bill Richardson means when he says, "There's something so special about this guy..." Now, can we please leave religion out of this campaign and get to what really matters?

More soon.....
xx Judy

I'd Rather Be Tapping

Key West -- I'm having a hard time writing the fourth, and final, book in the Pain&Great One series. "So what else is new?" George says, reminding me that I always feel this way when I start a book. I have a title -- Friend or Fiend -- and I have a rough draft of the title story. And an even rougher draft of the second story, which may turn out to be two stories. That would be good! That's how it works when you're writing a novel. One thing leads to another to another. But with short stories it doesn't work that way. And the Pain&Great One books are made up of seven short stories, all about the same brother and sister - Abigail and Jake. I've never been a short story writer so these books have been a challenge, but what fun each time a story is finished and it works! (That's what I have to keep reminding myself.)

The second book in the series, Cool Zone, will be published in May. A "reader's copy" of the third book, Going, Going, Gone! (due out in September) arrived at my house yesterday. That's like a preview copy, but without all the illustrations, revisions, and corrections. Still, it's so exciting to get a first look at a new book. It's like a birth -- you forget everything that went into it, the difficult days, the pain, the feeling that you'll never be able to do it -- and you just rejoice. You did it!

But now the next deadline is looming. This book is due in May (for publication in May '09). I've been writing by hand this morning and it's going better than it went yesterday. Sometimes when I'm struggling it works better to scribble than to type. There's a brain/hand connection. Also, yesterday I was feeling low about the results of Tuesday's primary. I hate it when the campaign gets negative. I hate that getting negative can bring in votes. I don't usually let whatever's going on in the real world affect my writing. (Wait! Do I really mean that? How about after 9-11 when I thought I'd never write again?)

Now I'm thinking about taking a shower. If I take my shower between 10am and 11am I can listen to the Diane Rehm show on NPR. I love my bathroom radio! I love the Diane Rehm show.
Of course, that takes me away from my characters, but it also gives me a break. This is very different from having a good first draft of a whole book. Once I have that, you can't get me away from my desk. (Well, okay - you can. But I'm not looking for excuses the way I am now.)

All in all, I'd rather be tap dancing!
Which I get to do tomorrow morning.




Here's a picture I can't resist sharing. A Fudge fan put this book into the hands of his baby sister. When I need inspiration I turn to my readers. And you know what? It almost always works.

OTHER NEWS:
A DVD of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great 

is available for the first time. I hope teachers and parents will share it with their kids and classes.

*A new brochure will soon be available replacing the ancient one we've been sending out for years. It's made up of several pages from my website, handsomely designed by the talented Mark Tuchman. And now that that's done -- he can get back to the website and animating my Home Page.

Teen Alert!!
A Blogfest is coming, starting on March 12 and lasting for two weeks. My book Forever is published by Simon Pulse which is why I've been asked to participate.


More soon.
XX Judy

Politics and Oscars....

Key West -- Amanda and Jim came to town last Thursday (Feb 21). She was stressed from months of running Bill Richardson's presidential campaign (and doesn't he look relaxed and happy sporting his new beard now that it's over?) Without a break, she's gone right into managing Tom Udall's campaign for Senate. On Friday we hosted a fundraiser for Tom's campaign. I've known Tom for 28 years but until now I'd never heard him speak as a Congressman (which he's been for 5 terms).
He was impressive, as well as warm and friendly to the 85 guests who had gathered in our garden to meet and hear him. Tom voted against the war in Iraq from day one. He's a superdelegate, too, and explained why he's not endorsing either of the democratic presidential candidates at this time.

George's introduction to Tom was funny but some people didn't get it. George's former wife has been married to Tom Udall for many years (at least as long as George and I have been together and that's 28 years). Amanda grew up with all four of us -- Tom and Jill (her mom) and George and me. At her wedding seven years ago, both "Dads" walked her down the aisle. I knew Jill when we all lived in Santa Fe. She gave George my name as someone he might want to have dinner with when he came out for a semester to be with Amanda. (He was teaching at Columbia Law School then.) This may sound very seventies but it's worked out well. So when George introduced Tom, saying, "He's the true family values candidate!" those in the know got his joke.

Once the party for Tom was over and he flew back to DC, Amanda and Jim got some much needed R&R. Wish we could have kept them here longer -- you could actually see the stress disappear day by day. On their last night in town we all went to the Tropic Cinema for their annual Academy Awards party.

Key West's amazing Christopher Peterson worked our red carpet as Joan Rivers. He's a fabulous guy who not only is a super entertainer, but is always ready to help out by lending his talents to a non-profit (like the Tropic). Here he doing his Marilyn Monroe bit.


Here are Amanda and Jim with "Oscar."

Even a local rooster got into the act.


Then back to our house to finish up the Key Lime pie they brought home from Blue Heaven.

********************************************************************************

While we're talking politics I confess to being obsessed by this primary campaign. I haven't been as excited about a candidate as I am about Barack Obama since I was voting in my first presidential election for John Kennedy. I watched the 20th debate with sweaty palms, praying neither one would get negative. I'll support either Democratic candidate but I'm hoping it's Obama. He makes me believe in the possibilities. Yes, I know it's going to be a mess for whichever candidate is elected. But he's so smart. I have to believe he'll surround himself with equally smart advisors. If he's running next fall, I'll be out there working for him. Someone asked me the other day, Are you voting against Hillary? And I answered, No, I'm voting for Obama. Then I gave her my reasons. There are some women who think if you're a feminist you should only be supporting Hillary. I think being a feminist means we've evolved to the point where we get to choose who we think will be the best candidate and make the best president, regardless of gender, race, or anything else. But, hey -- if Hillary's the candidate, I'll be out there supporting her. Will be glued to the tube on Tuesday night (March 4).

Oh, about the Oscars -- loved the couple who sang the song from Once. I was rooting for them. So glad they won. Maybe they should give Oscars to political candidates?
XX Judy

I Know It Must Be True Because....

I heard it on the radio. Tuesday, February 12, 8am (I was in the shower at the time enjoying my trusty shower radio. The announcement came on just after the news and caused me to drop my bar of soap.) Today is the birthday of Judy Blume. She's seventy. What?! Is this a joke? I turned off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and ran to give George the news. He said, Happy Birthday!

Okay, so it's not the first time my birthday's been announced on the radio. And I've never lied about my age -- I'm proud of it! -- but that number -- that Seven-Oh! I've never paid attention before. Not when I turned fifty. My mother had died the summer before and I wasn't in the mood to celebrate. Not when I turned sixty. I was on a book tour for Summer Sisters the summer before and was busy moving into a new house in Key West that February. But this one feels like a milestone. On the one hand I feel incredibly lucky -- I'm healthy, active, my mind and memory work well (in my opinion, anyway) I have more creative energy than I did a couple of years ago, and George thinks I'm hot (hot-ish?)

On the other hand, there's a lot to think about -- things I'm not sure I want to think about -- like how many good numbers are on the other side of 70. I think about the party I gave my mother to celebrate her 70th. I thought she was old, didn't I? I think about my friends who are seriously ill. About how we have no idea what's coming down the road. But then I realize this isn't productive thinking. And I decide to focus on the bright side. I decide to go with 70 is the new 50! (Okay, so I sound like the anti-Dennis Hopper in that commercial).

Although I'm a party girl (in the sense that I like giving and going to parties) we've been pretty much partied out in Key West this month. So instead of a party George took me away to a magical, romantic island. This is no hassle travel -- just an hour from Key West by car and boat -- no airport, no security, just throw a bag in the back of the truck and off we went to Little Palm Island.

I loved every minute of our time there -- well, except some of the dramatic weather -- but even that made our time more memorable. On the 12th, the sky was lit by lightning from about 6pm. For those of you who don't know, I'm phobic about thunderstorms. I panic, I need to be in a small, dark space. I'm like a frightened dog who crawls under the bed during a storm. But once I realized there was no thunder -- just lightning -- the panicky feelings eased. Hmmm -- maybe I'm right when I say the phobia began on July 4th when I was very small and my father sat me on the hood of our car so I could see the annual fireworks display. I think it was the unexpected boom after the sky lit up that scared me. Maybe now, with some help, I can conquer the fear. That would be something!

We sat on the porch for dinner -- George made sure I faced away from the lightning.

We enjoyed dessert (no singing waiters, just a message written in chocolate sauce, and a yummy molten chocolate cake) on another porch, while we listened to a very good jazz trio.

The next day we had a windstorm with 50+ mile an hour gusts. We didn't care. Each of us wanted nothing more than to sit and read. My friend Cynthia gave me a copy of Sue Miller's new novel The Senator's Wife to take away with me. I found this story of loyalty, betrayal, marriage, and friendship, engrossing and I've been thinking about it and the characters ever since. It's one of those books that sneaks up on you slowly. Don't want to give any more away.


Our last day was glorious. Blue sky, sunshine, absolutely perfect. I took out a kayak and explored the mangroves.


While George had a snooze....


We took the 6pm boat back to Little Torch Key and on the drive back to town caught the kind of sunset Key West is famous for.


Thank you for all your birthday wishes! I hope you have happy birthdays, too. And now, it's back to real life. The fourth book in the Pain&Great One quartet is due the end of April and I haven't started writing yet. (But I have been thinking!)
Love,
Judy