Grrreetings everyone! Hope you and yours are doing well.
Glad to report that my Website and email has been restored to full service, as far as I can tell.
Yesterday I daytripped to Manhattan. Rocco dropped me off downtown and picked me up when I returned at 10pm. and met my Air America Radio hero, Marc Maron, the mid40s Jewish male half of Morning Sedition. I told him I'm a longtime vegman aand said he should be careful of dairy products. No I didn't force my resume in his hands, or my CD portfolio with Bear Soup 8-10 mp3s, but I introduced myself and made decent conversation without tripping over a crack in the curb, at least.
I went to the cramped but interesting office of New Directions, to visit Thom Keith, whom Rocco and I met with his lover Arturo at the Saints & Sinners conference in New Orleans. Thom self-identifies as a book editor, ND's publishing program is contemporary with Shambhala's, and we share other literary enthusiasms. Rocco gave me two books to take to Thom, and I brought a rare-ish copy of Bearotica.
Alyson took Bearotica out of print last year, and I asked Thom his opinion about various permissions matters, especially since another publisher is interested picking up Bearotica as print-on-demand (POD) now.
I kept reasonably dry running to several bookstores, including Oscar Wilde and Rainbows & Triangles, and marched with my packages to Thom's office, 16th floor in a 1920s office building on Eight Ave & 18th St. He showed me around. There's a small patio with copious plants, and on the walls some great author photos – including a bearded Tennessee Williams!
My compact umbrella, which I picked up two years ago in NYC in the Village when I was caught in the rain, ended up in a trashbin not too far from where I bought it. So I got quite wet but did manage to meet up with Bob Neu, author of that story, “Fake Fur Collar,” and we had a lovely bit of cafe bearwriter chat too. Bob stood two stairs down and we hugged good bye nearly eye to eye. I caught the uptown 1 train to Penn Station like a native and had plenty of time to grab dinner before the norteasthbound train came in.
I wrote up some notes and listened to Judy Collins and Rufus until I got in.
