Monday, April 29, 2013

Randomly Before I Go

I'm leaving this morning for a one and a half day gig as a Visiting Author.  This afternoon I'll be speaking at Webb School, a private K-12 school on the far side of Knoxville.  I'll be discussing For Freedom and Jefferson's Sons with their sixth and seventh grades.  Then I'll be making a return trip to Roberts Middle School, in Oak Ridge, to discuss the same two books, this time with the entire school.  I've got a few minutes of time this morning since my whole family had to get out the door early, except me.

1.  I haven't been doing as many Visiting Author trips as I used to.  I hope it's the economy, not that my stock has gone down.

2.  My daughter went to a birthday party yesterday.  She gave her friend a copy of one of my books as a gift. (We've gotten away with that trick for years.)  Her friend's Mom said something about my being an author, and another adult sidled up to my daughter and asked, "Published?"

3.  This completely cracked my daughter up, because it's the first question anybody ever asks me.  Both my daughter and I think that while the word "writer" can be somewhat ambiguous, the  word "author" implies published.

4.  No one at the schools I'm going to will ask me if I'm published.  Since they're middle schoolers, they probably won't ask me if I like hot dogs.  One kid, however is sure to ask how much money I make.  The teachers will pretended to be horrified even though they're secretly dying to know.

5.  The guy who works on my farm can not figure out why I'm going to talk at a school.  I've tried explaining, and he just shakes his head and says, "Well, Miss Kim, if that's what you'd like to do, go ahead."

6.  I went to a milestone wedding this weekend:  the first time that I was friends not with the bride, but with her parents.  The first time a bride has ever called me, "Mrs. Bradley."

7.  Those of us at Table Five at the wedding reception--five couples--were all on our first marriages, and had been married between 21 and 33 years.  We were rather proud of that.

8.  I've known the other couples from the time I moved to Bristol.  Kathy and I moved here the same year; the others were friends before that. 

9.  In time, we at Table Five will attend each other's children's weddings.  But since the children range in age from 13 to 20, we all hope it will be awhile. 

10.  My friend Diane snapped a photo with her phone of me raising a glass of wine at the wedding.  Then she put it on Facebook.  I now have one of those Facebook photos that make people nervous about hiring you.

11.  Fortunately, I'm self-employed.

12.  Although really, it's a good thing I got this Visiting Author gig before the photo went up.

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