Last Stop, Schenectady

It's fitting that we end the A MOMENT IN THE SUN tour in John Sayles' home town.
After so many days and nights away, we were happy to spend the night of June 6 at home in our own bed. It was an easy and beautiful drive from Dutchess Co. to Schenectady.

We crossed the mighty Hudson, our own river.

And the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.
We have spent so much time in the open landscape of this big country that the city comes as a bit of a shock.

Schenectady's downtown has seen great improvements over the last several years, thanks to John's brother Doug Sayles, among many others.
New businesses are coming into this city once known as "the city that lights and hauls the world", from its heyday as the home of General Electric and American Locomotive. Now it's also the home to Sweet Temptations.

Here is the staff with Joe DiPascuale. We were among their customers on opening day.Joe and John had an appointment next door at Proctor's to talk about "Christ in Concrete". They met online!

Here we are with our Schenectady posse, from left my cousin Tony Hynes with his friend Shannon, Doug Sayles next to John, and Doug's partner Susan Dupras.

The sponsoring bookstore in Schenectady is Open Door Books. I know the proprietors were honored to be included in the list of distinguished independent bookstores already known to McSweeney's. We have Doug Sayles to thank for arranging Open Door's participation and for including the Schenectady Light Opera as the venue. Singers and dancers from the John Sayles School of Fine Arts entertained the audience of nearly 100 people. No air conditioning! John Sayles soldiered on and read "Yellow Kid", the chapter about the newsboys.
Lots of friends and family including John's father Don Sayles and Uncle Everett and cousin Christine.

This was not a great night for your Blog Photographer. Here is John with Mont Pleasant High School friend Al Aldi. And I hope William will forgive me for this terrible picture.

I was so impressed to meet a kid who had written a paper comparing Eliot Asinof's book EIGHT MENT OUT with the Johns Sayles movie of the same name, that I must have jinxed the photo. Eliot would be so proud.

Last stop on the tour, we have to celebrate with a drink at Aperitivo. With those you have met before,
Mark Young and Lori Selden, owners of Mexican Radio in Hudson and NYC. It's a friendly finish to a wonderful trip, and then we drive HOME.
Thanks for following the trip. We had the time of our lives.


View John Sayles Moment Book Tour in a larger map

See our tour details on the McSweeney's page!