John Sayles AMIGO & A Moment in the Sun

A nice mention of me at Sundance from the ever gracious Sarah Green at the INDIEWIRE KEYNOTE.

2012-01-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Sarah Green's Sundance Keynote: "Be as generous as you can be."

"The Tree of Life" and "Take Shelter" producer Sarah Green

Sarah Green has earned a long-held reputation as a tenacious producer, with credits that include last year's "The Tree of Life" and "Take Shelter;" she's currently in post on Terrence Malick's new film starring Rachel McAdams and Ben Affleck. Today, she delivered the keynote at Sundance's annual Producers Lunch, an honor that's previously gone to "Beginners" producers Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen, "Blue Valentine" producer Lynette Howell and "Win Win" producer Mary Jane Skalski.

With kind thanks to Sundance and Green, we're publishing her speech in full.

Thanks to Michelle Satter, Anne Lai and Sundance, for honoring you all by hosting this lunch, and for giving me the honor of addressing you.

I am in awe of you all. I have pored over this year's festival catalog and watched movies since my arrival, and I am so heartened by the films, by the movies that are being made because of you. Yes, money is tight, but we are making movies! Your accomplishments strengthen us all, and I am very grateful to you.

I am also grateful for the extraordinary generosity of my fellow producers. There are many fine examples right here at Sundance -‐ so many folks giving up their precious time to mentor others through the programs encompassed by the Creative Producers Initiative, for instance. Mentorship is a powerful force; I know that without the guidance of those who mentored me, I'd likely still be flipping hamburgers, which is an excellent profession but one that I was certainly less suited for than this.

I was doing just that, cooking in a restaurant and attending Emerson College, when I got the opportunity to intern for Debra Franco, who was self distributing her films through a co-op of independent filmmakers. Not only was she insanely generous with her time and expertise, she offered me a job with the flexibility to work on others' movies, all while becoming well versed in DIY educational distribution. Who would have guessed how relevant that would be in today's distribution landscape?

Debra introduced me to cinematographer Nancy Schreiber. I was living under the fantasy that because I was technically inclined, and really wanted to be an artist, that I might become a DP. Nancy did her best to train me, but one day, working as an electrician and listening to Nancy debating a particular lighting nuance with her gaffer, it occurred to me that, not only do I not have an opinion on the problem, I don't see it... I was not destined to be a cinematographer.

I stumbled my way into production management, where fortunately I had the amazing Peggy Rajski to turn to. Peggy was producing films on which she also served as production manager, and generously offered to teach me, which was fortunate because when I say I stumbled my way in, I am not kidding. I remember Peggy showing me a call sheet, which blew my mind. All that information in one place! Cost report? A revelation!

I learned a lot from Peggy, enough so that when she and Maggie Renzi decided to move on from their producing partnership, I felt empowered enough to say yes when invited by Maggie to be her new producing partner. I was hardly qualified, but fortunately for me Maggie likes to mentor. I watched her get "City of Hope" financed over one lunch, from which I took that producing was easy. It took a while to understand the background of that one lunch: an established and well-loved writer/director, a good script, a cast assembled through past relationships and reputations, a budget that made sense, a timely niche in the marketplace, and a direct and personal relationship with Larry Estes who made that particular financing call. Super easy!

You are the people getting movies made. You have likely benefited from someone else's generosity. I encourage you to pass that on.

These are extraordinary examples of generosity, I know, and I can only hope you have had, or can create similar opportunities. Those of you who are new to producing: if you get them, use them; work your butt off and don't stop until you have learned everything possible from the situation. And then work some more; it's good training for the tenacity you will need to get your next film off the ground.

While I was learning to coordinate and then to production manage, I took on a trainee coordinator called Georgia Kacandes. Yes, that Georgia Kacandes, the one who got a shout-out from Martin Scorcese at the Golden Globes last week, the one who ran physical production at Paramount Vantage and then at Paramount. While I was mentoring Georgia from APOC to Coordinator to UPM, I was learning valuable lessons in how to be a boss. Those of you who know Georgia won't be surprised to hear that she sat me down one day and explained that if I wanted her to take responsibility, I had to give her the reins; micromanaging wasn't doing either of us any good. I learned a lot from Georgia, as you will from your mentees.

I belong to a producers' group. You know that person you've known forever, who you trust completely and can ask anything of, who you know is truly on your side? Belonging to this group means I have 20 of those, 20 people who have come together for the sole purpose of supporting each other as producers, to be as generous as we possibly can be with each other.

We advise each other, we share information, we introduce each other to financiers and actors and other collaborators and we cheer each other on. It's insanely enriching, empowering and rewarding, and it brings out the best in us all. I recommend it to every one of you; find a group to join that brings out your own generosity.

Beyond the Sundance programs already mentioned, there are many existing groups to join: the PGA, which is reforming its Independent Film Producers Committee in which I am involved, Film Independent, IFP and the Independent Producers' Alliance that formed out of Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen's keynote speech last year, to name a few. Or you can form a group of your own; within an intimate group, you can afford to be even that much more generous.

You are the people getting movies made. You have likely benefited from someone else's generosity in getting where you are. I encourage you to pass that on, to be as generous as you can be with each other, and to new folks coming up. You are probably doing that already -- maybe consciously, maybe unconsciously. Make it a priority, because that's how we will all thrive.

It may seem like someone else's film getting made precludes yours, but I don't believe that to be true. If that happens, it's more likely that their material is stronger or more accessible, or their relationships more developed. Working from your most generous place will feed your relationships and make them stronger; and being generous with your time and resources when it comes to others will likely result in that same generosity back to you. A little tough love from your peers can go a long way toward making your project more viable.

So give some of your time, your expertise, your energy to mentor, to train, to advise and to cheer. What benefits one independent film benefits us all. Who hasn't referenced "Brokeback Mountain" or "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Precious" when trying to explain that our "female-driven," "period," "coming-of-age," "Americana" (oh, and here's the real eye-roller in a pitch meeting) or "drama" was going to make pots of money. A truly successful indie gives us all something to point to when pitching our own film, and makes it easier to get another independent film made.

I wish you all, every success.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sarah-greens-sundance-keynote-be-as-generous-as-you-can-be

AMIGO on VOD!

2012-01-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

I know I promised to catch you up on posts of where we've been with AMIGO in the past few months. Apologies! The holidays overtook me and now I am getting an early start on valentines production while watching what the Academy sent us For Consideration.

In the meantime, if AMIGO is not coming to a theater near you soon enough, catch it on VOD.

Go to amigomovie.com to see the many carriers for VOD. The website has some live links that will take you directly to the pages where you can stream: Watch it on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, and various local carriers. And for all of you with Netflix, AMIGO will be out on January 18. Stay tuned.

AMIGO at the Smithsonian

2011-11-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, it was ages ago, but at the kind invitation of our friend Konrad Ng, Director of the Pacific Asian Program of the Smithsonian, we went down to DC to show AMIGO.

Here we are at a terrific Mexican restaurant called Oyamel with, from the right, Konrad, John and me, Robert Perkinson, and our pal Catherine Park, all the way from LA. That's Robert's book and his other project is campaigning to locate the President Obama Library in Hawaii. Seems like a good idea to me.

We never got any state money for any of our films, but I am considering this trip paid for by the government. They covered our train ride from Poughkeepsie and two nights in the lovely Washington Plaza Hotel, built in 1962 and kept amazingly intact.

Our room was tiny but the price was right and the atmosphere in the lobby and bar was international.
Nicole joined us and we visited Occupy Wall St. Washington.
They had a library

and a very tidy campsite. We dropped off some used towels and floor mats to make life there more comfortable. I can mother this movement and I am proud of how it has captured the conversation in this country and around the world.
Through AMIGO we continue to meet smart, young Filipinos (and some great older ones! like Sonny Izon with whom we had a nice but hurried dinner during the show-both interrupted by power failure at the theater in the Museum of the American Indian). Teddy Gonzalves is a professor in American Studies, which discipline is now including Empire Studies.
Here is Teddy's lovely wife, Charita.

John makes anyone look small.

I've been away

2011-11-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Did you miss me? I have actually had some time off-and I'll be doing more of that, just watch me-but we haven't stopped promoting AMIGO and MOMENT IN THE SUN.

I'm going to work backwards, and take you to the most recent stop on our American Lakbay/Tour: The Sixth Annual Sanibel Writers Workshop. John was the keynote speaker and also read from the Tampa chapter to a warm crowd of about 300. Speaking of warm, thank you to Tom De Marchi for the invitation-once accepted, we cooked up a mini-tour of Florida and Louisiana, follow us along. For more about the conference, go to http://www.fgcu.edu/siwc

Here's Tom with John. Florida Gulf Coast University is very lucky to have teachers as enthusiastic as Tom and his wife Karen Tolchin. Their students had to buy John's book!

Here are some getting autographs.
Here is the view, through the screen of our 2nd floor lanai, of the beach on Sanibel Island.

We fled New York after 9.5 inches of snow and 4 days without power. We deserve a view of the Gulf.

AMIGO has a billboard on 5th Avenue

2011-08-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Consul General Mario de Leon hosted a forum with us and UniPro www.facebook.com/unipronow a great group of young Filipino professionals.
(Does anybody have photos from this event?)
We showed the AMIGO trailer and John answered really good questions about AMIGO and the history between the U.S and the Philippines. The site was the Philippines Center at its posh address, 5th Avenue between 45th and 46th. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Centeren.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Center.
When Ms. Elena Maningat of the Consul asked if perhaps they could move the monitor to the window and show the trailer in a loop to passersby, I gasped and said YES.

Can you see the bus passing by, in the reflection? Tricky photos to take and we have U.S. Background Soldier Kenny Guay to thank for these. Just as Ms. Maningat reported to me yesterday, lots of people are stopping by to check out the trailer, the poster, and a card listing the show times at AMC Empire 25 where we open this Friday August 19.

Go see for yourself.
Thank you, NY Consulate. Your support means a lot to us.

That's the way it's supposed to be

2011-08-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here's an anecdote from Dylan Marchetti, head of VAriance Films which is doing such a good job releasing AMIGO in the U.S.

"The night security guard in our office stopped me and asked me if we were doing Amigo. He said he'd seen the ads popping up on TFC and his grandmother said she wanted the family to go on opening weekend."

One month later...

2011-08-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

Time passes!
It's been a month since my last post, urging you to see AMIGO in the Philippines. We did just fine there, stayed in the theaters for 10 days, against TRANSFORMERS, and started a positive buzz for the provincial and scholastic release of the film in the upcoming month.

WE ARE ABOUT TO OPEN IN THE US! I think we have a really good strategy, opening August 19 in cities with large Filipino populations, and expanding during the following weeks to more cities where lots of Filipinos live. Our outreach to the FilAm community has been so rewarding, resulting in more openings than we had originally planned, and- thanks so many times to Dylan Marchetti and his team at Variance Films- we are in all the right theaters. We'll be playing in mainstream theaters in cities like Milpitas and Tukwila and also in art cinemas, where we hope the non-FilAm Sayles fans will find us easily.

NEW YORK AMC Empire 25! Little AMIGO in a great 42nd St theater. How cool is that? Come for the 7pm show on August 19 and 20 and you'll see John Sayles answering questions at the end of the show.

Here's the line-up for August 19 openings around the country. Spread the word to your friends and family.

19-Aug        New York, NY    AMC Empire 25
19-Aug        Los Angeles, CA    Laemmle's Monica 4
19-Aug         Los Angeles, CA (Cerritos)    Edwards Cerritos Stadium 10
19-Aug        Los Angeles, CA (West Covina)    AMC Puente Hills 20
19-Aug        San Diego, CA    UA Horton Plaza 14
19-Aug        Tukwila, WA (Seattle)    AMC Southcenter 16
19-Aug        San Jose, CA (Milpitas)    Century 20 Great Mall 20 + XD
19-Aug        Stockton, CA    Regal Stockton City Center Stadium 16
19-Aug        San Fran (Daly City)    UA Stonestown Twin
19-Aug        San Fran (Union City)    Cinemark Union Landing 25 + XD

26-Sep        San Jose, CA (Santa Clara)    AMC Mercardo 20
26-Aug        Honolulu, HI    Regal Dole Cannery
26-Aug        Guam    Micronesia Mall 10

2-Sep        Virginia Beach, VA (Norfolk)    AMC Lynnhaven 18
2-Sep         DC    West End Cinema
2-Sep        DC (Gaithesburg, MD)    AMC Rio 18
2-Sep        Las Vegas, NV    Regal Village Square 18
2-Sep        Seattle, WA    Northwest Film Forum
2-Sep        Portland, OR    Hollywood Theater
8-Sep         Albuquerque, NM    Guild Cinema
16-Sep         Dallas, TX    Texas Theater
16-Sep         Minneapolis, MN    St. Anthony Main Theater
16-Sep
Chicago, IL    Gene Siskel Film Center
23-Sep        Denver, CO    Denver FilmCenter/Colfax

If you don't see your city here and you think you can help us bring out an audience for AMIGO, go onto our website www.amigomovie.com and let us know.

This is it.

2011-07-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is your moment, like voting for the candidate you really want to win. Go tonight to a theater near you to see AMIGO. Small movies don't stand a chance if YOU don't support them. Don't wait till your whole crowd wants to go. Be the first.
This movie will not be out on DVD for at least two years.
See it now.

PHILIPPINES
06 July 2011
Selected Theaters

Selected Theaters
QUEZON CITY
Ayala Cinemas
TriNoma*

SM Cinemas
SM North Edsa*

Others
Gateway Cinemas*
MAKATI
Ayala Cinemas
Glorietta 4**

MANDALUYONG
SM Cinemas
SM Megamall*

Robinsons' Cinemas
Robinsons' Galleria*

MANILA
SM Cinemas
SM Manila*

Robinson's Cinemas
Robinson's Ermita*

PASAY CITY
SM Cinema
SM Mall of Asia**

OTHER AREAS
CAVITE
SM Bacoor*

CEBU CITY
SM Cebu**

DAVAO CITY
SM Davao*

* Only Spanish and Cantonese dialogues have English subtitles
** All non-English dialogues (Filipino, Spanish, Cantonese) have English subtitles

Have a look at some of the recent AMIGO press:

2011-07-05T08:55:00.001-07:00

An interview on The Bottomline with Boy Abunda: http://www.flipbooth.com/video/2feb5278841e43e/The-Bottomline-02-July-2011-courtesy-of-ABS-CBN-FlipBooth

The Philippine Star, by Wilson Lee Flores: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=702095&publicationSubCategoryId=86

The Philippine Star, by Bibsy Carballo: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=702211

Pep Takip Silip coverage: http://www.pep.ph/photos/2379/%22Amigo%22_reveals_the_truths_untold/num/0

Good Bye, Manila

2011-07-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

On our last day Joel and John and I visit Bee and the Rottweiler at the Veterinary Hospital in Mandaluyong. We were hoping to see Bee at Fully Booked and the AMIGO premiere, but flooding stranded her in the hospital (Manila, get it together!) and she needed to be with Leo.

Good bye, Bee. See you next time. Good luck, Leo.

Goodbye, the Pasig River. Be cleaner next time?

Goodbye, Joel. See you in New YOrk. Goodbye Tess and Sharon. Thanks for taking care of us.

Goodbye Bobby and Olivia. Thanks for making us part of your family.

AMIGO Premiers in Manila

2011-07-04T03:56:00.000-07:00

Trinoma Mall, opposite SM North EDSA. Origin8 has organized a very nice reception around the beautiful show of Gino Gonzales' costumes for AMIGO.

Here is Joel doing an interview-one of many since we had a lot of press there-in front of a selection of the costumes. Each was "hero" costume, worn by one of the principles, and each came with a caption that named the actor and described the character. Very elegant and subtle, very Gino. Of course he and Grace weren't able to attend the opening of the exhibition because they had been up all night setting it up! Gino is designing the TV series "Amara" with Rodell Cruz as Production Designer. Thank you for a beautiful job, Gino.

Re-enactors from Buhay na Kasaysayan attended in force and their presence added to the festive atmosphere. Everybody wanted a picture with them. Including Beth Day Romulo. Learn more about this wonderful group at www.pinoyhistory.proboards.com

We were happy to see Beth and our hostess Olivia Romulo and our pal Salito Malca from HIT Productions, here in the pink.

HIT is a top-notch sound studio and I know Salito and his business partner Dennis Cham are thrilled with the new sound mix on AMIGO.
Lots of last minute drama as Katski Flores from Origin8 flew in from Hong Kong with the newly subtitled print, just in time for DP Lee Meily to check it out projected in the cinema. LOUD AC, but Lee had the projectionist boost the sound, and we had no complaints. Whew!

Yours truly looking hefty with Loy Arcenas, director of NINO (featuring Arthur Acuña). Loy is a good friend of my NY pal Jean Passanate and I hope she sees this photo!

Here are some new friends. From the right Fiona Malca looking glamourous in her new scarf from Legazpi Market, Ray Potter and his wife Joy Yamamoto whom we met at Fully Booked reading, Mrs. Isabel Caro Wilson, ex-Ambassador from the Philippines to Spain, and our new Consul General from the US in Manila, Michael Schimmel. I have already hit up Michael for help expediting Joel Torre's visa for his trip to the US in August. Thank you in advance, Con Gen Schimmel.

Two stars meet at last.
It was wonderful to see so many of the AMIGO cast and crew here. You know who you are.

To the rest of you, we missed you. I hope you will rush to see AMIGO in the theaters when it opens July 6. For ongoing listings of the theaters where it is playing, go to amigomoviephil.com
AMIGO is small but important, TRANSFORMERS is big. Go see AMIGO first.

Back to Business in Manila

2011-07-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

First, an hour delay before we arrive in driving rain. Thank you Dayno Dinopol for picking us up, and to Joel for doing the TV interview without us.
We have moved to Maritina's comfortable, convenient apartment in Makati and the arms of her welcoming family. Quick change from our beach clothes, and up to a lovely dinner party at Roberto and Olivia Romulo's. Here is John with our friend Beth Day Romulo.

Two writers. See if you can find Beth's book Inside the Palace for a bird's eye view.

John reads at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street. It's a great bookstore, absolutely to the standard of the best of the US bookstores. They have ordered a 400 copies, so buy one!

Here is actress Ermie Concepcion, displaying the product.

John read with a mic from a space in the center of the store. I enjoyed watching shoppers be pulled in by the reading (Diosdado, the principle Filipino character in A MOMENT IN THE SUN) and by the brilliance of his answers in the Q & A. They stayed to buy books.

At Maritina's we are conveniently located near Glorietta 5. Sarah Green's (okay, Terry Malick's) TREE OF LIFE is playing in the cinema there. Crazy poster with a little bit of everything. It succeeded I guess, because the theater was packed. John and I enjoyed the movie-and most of the Filipino audience stayed to the end, a little baffled you could tell, by a movie far artier than what usually plays in the mall.

Manila is not all work of course. Raymond Lee from Origin8 takes me to BBFH. Six hands on me at once, pedi, mani, hot oil hair treatment. I felt like Dorothy-in 1978.
John does most of the work and never gets a pedicure.

Here he is with Boy Abunda, recording Bottomline.Boy Abunda is not shy and John rose to the questions. I think you will be able to catch it on YouTube.

Post interview dinner at JT's Original Manukan Grill, with Lee Meily and Uly. We have some good friends in Manila.

Farewell Bohol

2011-07-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

First stop, drop off the dogs. Julius is the guy who carts our stuff up the hill. Thank you, Julius.

How could I have fogotten to take a photo of us with Jun Evasco, Mayor of Maribojoc? We stopped by City Hall to leave posters of AMIGO, with our thanks. No photo of the Mayor, but here is the beautiful poster from the Philippines campaign, from a photo by Mary Cybulski.

Our next stop is Talisay Beach, to visit the Budlong Family that took such good care of us during the AMIGO edit. Dieter with Vincent, Cooper, Tessie, Sophia, and John.

We are sorry to have missed our landlord Sir Ben Udtohan. This is his groovy mah jong club, finished since we were at Talisay Beach earlier this year.

I plan to invite myself to spend the night, next time. And to lose about 20 lbs. before I do!

There's our girl Sophia with her pal from next door, Inday. We miss you all.

I guess it's not so surprising to see a tricycle called AMIGO, but I am feeling sentimental

Farewell lunch at Ati-Atihan with Cooper.
When will we be back?

We slip away to Bohol

2011-07-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

Leaving Manila in the rain

Arriving in Bohol in the mist. Remember that strange weather we saw from the patio of Stone House? June is monsoon season and this is Tropical Storm Falcon. It will not go away.

We stop at the wet market in Manga to buy a "unicorn fish" to grill at Dieter and Bee's.

Cross my beautiful Abatan River, as we did every day on our way to the Baryo set.

And up the hill to Dieter and Bee's house overlooking Maribojoc Bay.

Lots of new improvements for those of you who have been lucky enough to make the trip up the hill. This house is handmade by the best pandays.

New stairs. Eggs are good luck and you see eggshells decorating the bushes at the entrance of many houses.

A new dog house, but none of the dogs will go in it.

John and I sleep on the porch and watch fireflies gather in the eaves.

We say goodbye at the airport to Bee who is going to Manila with the Rottweiler who needs a hip replacement. Good luck! We'll miss you.
Because Dieter and John and I are off to Cabilao- TS Falcon be damned!

Dieter is smiling but he is also holding on to the little box holding the new addition, Chihuahua Coco. None of us has seen the passage so rough as today in the storm.
Bamboo Reef Resort is as pretty as I remember it. Junelle is in charge of the decor.

The waterfront cottage has been converted to an open cabana. We spend most of our time here since the breeze (wind, really, this is a tropical storm) keeps the mosquitoes from biting, and there is no snorkelling on this trip.

On the ritual visit to CROWN weavers to buy my very own bayong (woven shopping bag, for those of you who have missed the other trips) we get happily lost and I see parts of the island I missed before.

Strangely human trees

and a quaint welcome from another time. It's the day before fiesta (San Juan) and there are lots of people willing to show us the way home.

We load on the sheltered side of the island and for the first time we go around the back of the island, to avoid the worst of the waves.

Sasha and John stay cool

and I get wet. This is the first time we have left Cabilao without some idea of when we'll be back.

Launching AMIGO in Manila

2011-07-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

We are happy to be back at Stone House. Remember our patio? Some strange weather brewing.

This is the staff at Star Tavern, Stone House resto. It's so good to see everybody again.

Origin8 has organized a press con (Filipinos like to abbreviate) at Dolcelatte. Joel was so hoarse from his party he could barely whisper his answers. Bembol pitched in.

Here I am at the Fully Booked press con with Erwin Romulo whom I have not seen since we met at a party Joel organized for John and me exactly two years ago. I now realize that Erwin is a Romulo which means he is Maritina's second cousin, among other of his relations I have gotten to know. And Erwin is the new Editor of ESQUIRE Philippines. Wow.
Lots of journalists with good questions for John.
Answer me this: Why doesn't the Philippines have its own crime fiction?

And we're off again

2011-06-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

The A MOMENT IN THE SUN tour over, we were home for a week-or about 10 minutes. I had a swell weekend with the ladies on Fisher's Island

We had such a good time and toasted all you absent friends-often.
Then a quick trip up to Williamstown to check on Ma and Pa Renzi. All fine, and then to Hoboken to say goodbye to Maritina Romulo and then off to LA.
Where we saw friends, I returned to Natura Spa, and the only photos I took were of Emily Laskin's roses.

How many times and how many different ways over the past 3 years have we flown to the Philippines?
This time we flew from LAX to Inchon via Asiana Air. I recommend the Korean menu.
Tammy the amazing President of Origin8 came to the airport to get us with Dayno her heroic husband. What's the secret to independent distribution? Tireless work.
Sunday is the best day in Manila because the streets are almost empty. Late sleep at our home away from home, Stone House Quezon City, and my favorite breakfast of arroz caldo (garlicky rice porridge-try it before you knock it) and then a taxi in the pouring rain to Nuat Thai. I try the Aromatherapy package. It starts with an excellent foot massage and then a full body massage. With oil, which is not my favorite. I like a little more traction. Still, the hot compresses feel good and I know massage is the best way to beat travel weariness. Shabu-shabu (hotpot) for lunch helps too.

IT'S JOEL TORRE'S 50TH BIRTHDAY. (Jose Rizal's 150th, but we're not invited).

Here is the birthday boy with his loving and patient wife Cristy looking on.

AMIGO cast and crew were well represented. Fun to see Tita Cecille Baun our makeup/sfx/hair, and Pete Lacaba who translated John's script to Tagalog.

Here are the newlyweds Cheska and Bobby. We are looking forward to hosting their wedding in Clinton Corners. October?

Joel with Renaissance man Dwight (Props for AMIGO). So many friends and I failed to get pictures of many of them:Margie Templo (engaged to James Parks!), Kokoy Jimenez almost unrecognizable with a new haircut, Spanky and Raul Manikan, Pen Medina partying, Tita Ermie looking as good as ever...
see you at the premiere June 28, Trinoma 6pm. Exhibit of Gino's costumes just before.
It's great to be back in Manila.

Thanks for the opportunity

2011-06-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

One photo, many thanks.

Here are the players.

Anthony Arnove, social activist and John’s tireless literary agent. For two years he carted A MOMENT IN THE SUN- in two gym bags, John says- from publisher to publisher to publisher until finally he landed the big book at McSweeney’s.

Dave Eggers, author and editor, founder of McSweeney’s. He was the one who chose MOMENT and liked it just the way it was.

Jordan Bass is the editor who made the book better, with John’s cooperation, which surprised all who know him. Jordan helped restructure the big book and even asked John to write a few new chapters to help the reader get oriented.

Juliet Litman was the publicist for the book and the book tour. Planning the tour with her was only fun.

Alan Horkey designed the cover of the book, whose beauty was remarked upon wherever we went. I liked it when the bookstores remembered to pile them up by the podium where they shined in the light. You can see where the design comes from by going to http://rockofeye.net/artists/aaron-horkey

Russell Quinn designed the website and continued to fill it up, and fulfill all the promised made to John, especially to include the photos he used in his research. If you are reading the book, be sure to used the website as a companion guide. You can find it at http://www.mcsweeneys.net/books/amomentinthesun

I can’t find the name of the printer of the book, though I know it is an American company. They kindly made a special edition which Jordan gave to John. Here it is with abundant thanks to you all from John and me.

Last Stop, Schenectady

2011-06-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

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!

We Can Smell the Barn

2011-06-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

We wake up by the river in Pittsburgh.

Neville Island where our Fairmont Hotel is located is industrial and less attractive than you might imagine from this photo. Very nice Maura at the desk helps me with an internet problem and after yesterday's sunset tour, we have nothing but good to say about Pittsburgh.
Leaving Pittsburgh takes awhile, across bridges

and more bridges

till you reach farmland all across Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is the first superhighway in the US, if I remember the plaque correctly.
Wind power here too.

We have had such a good time on this trip. So many days together, our time our own. We are both a little sorry it's ending.

All of a sudden, we can see the skyline of Newark and New York City.

And then we're back in Hoboken.

We call Keetin in the office and she meets us in the Rite Aid parking lot where we transfer all our stuff to our old Subaru.
And turn in the Prius.

It's been good to us.

John Sayles Runs Across the U.S.A

2011-06-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

While I was in some hotel room wrestling with the internet, John was running. Here are his reflections on running across the country:

The only way to drive across the country and back without your body falling into complete atrophy is regular exercise. On the Moment in the Sun tour this mostly meant running 3 miles 1st thing in the morning every other day- from wherever we had landed the preceding evening. My favorites include-

Hoboken, NJ- once before leaving and once on the last day of the tour, from our 13th St. office to the train station at the other end of town, along the mighty Hudson river with the Manhattan skyline as backdrop. All hard surfaces, so you try not to pound, but the river has really been reclaimed since we moved here 30-some years ago.

Washington, D.C.- we stayed with friends in Takoma Park, so I got to run along the Sligo Creeek Parkway- trees, water, and lots of springy wooden footbridges to cross.

Nashville, Tenn.- Vanderbilt U. had just had commencement services and I got to run through the enormous, tree-shaded campus while the tents were still up but the people all gone. Got a bit lost it was so big.

Oxford, Miss.- U. Miss. had also just graduated a horde. Got to run from our B&B-like hotel (constant chocolate chip cookies appearing in lobby) near William Faulkner’s house to the campus and back. Again, great old southern trees with their roots muscling the sidewalks out of shape.

Lake Arthur, La.- near where we shot Passion Fish. Cypress, Spanish moss, then big flat rice fields that are also home to future po-boy dwelling crawfish. Seriously humid even at 7am.

El Paso, Texas- ran into the old downtown which is featured in a chapter of A Moment in the Sun. Ran around ‘Alligator’ (San Jacinto) Plaza, the alligators only statues now. Nobody else moving on the streets on a Sunday morning.

Playa Vista, Cal.- this is that bit off to the east of Lincoln Blvd. just before you climb the hill to the Los Angeles Int’l Airtport. New community, feels very Truman Show still. Ran across the big road to a point where you could see the ocean. Also played basketball at the very nice park right by Lincoln- surprising number of people out doing jock things so early.

Yreka, Cal.- central California, well north of the Bay area. Spectacular late-day run in high mountain meadows, yellow stuff and purple stuff (botany gets a very short shrift in my books) growing all over the place.

Boise, Idaho- another late-day run after a long day on the road, this one around downtown in a U.S. city I’d never been to before (like Johnny Cash, I’ve been everywhere). Crossed the Boise River on Americana Blvd. Mountains surround the town, which looks great as the sun sinks.

Salt Lake City- skipped the run and shot very early-morning baskets in a city park. None of the dozen or so street people sleeping there were wakened by the sound of the ball (before 8am I try to swish so the rim won’t clang)- SLC could challenge Santa Monica as the Home of the Homeless.

North Platte, Neb.- there was a very inviting golf course next door to the motel but they hate joggers. So I passed it and ran over a bridge across the South Platte River (very close to the North right there) where at least a thousand swallows swirled in the middle- something like the Bridge of Bats (Puente de los Murcielagos) in Austin.

Iowa City, Iowa- got out early in light rain which immediately stopped and was able to run along and over the Iowa River and back, then up the Old Capitol steps with the theme from Rocky in my head (I’ve run up the ones in Philly too- gets crowded some mornings).

Evanston, Ill.- Chicago had no rooms so we ended up here near Northwestern U. Great run along Lake Michigan up to the campus, out on a point where you could see down the coast to the big city skyline. Very nice park, lots of runners with dogs.

Neville Island, Pa.- out in the middle of the Ohio River but no good paths alongside it, this was what I usually get on the road- lots of traffic, funky overpasses, running in place to wait for traffic lights. Give me a good deserted super mall any time.

Next stop, Manila, Philippines- where the jeepney noise and air pollution make running any later than 6am near suicidal. May have to revert to the exercise bike and watching ESPN women’s softball on a very small TV.

Pittsburgh

2011-06-06T05:21:00.000-07:00

It's a long drive from Chicago to Pittsburgh.

There's Chicago in the distance. We are lucky that it's Sunday morning, with no traffic. Most of our driving has been in the countryside on this trip, and though we love being in Chicago we are looking forward to returning to the greenscape.

Not immediately. A few showers but we can see lighter skies ahead, and on this trip we always leave bad weather behind.

Here's a sign at a Denny's. Who says we're an illiterate country?

There is plenty of tidy farmland as we cross into Indiana, skim Michigan and cross into Ohio, and enter Pennsylvania from the West.
We are deep into a brilliant reading of Faulkner's SANCTUARY, and finally we have to turn it off for awhile as it turns down a Noir alley.
We both admit we're sorry the trip is almost over.
And then we unfold ourselves and enter the chill of our Fairfield Marriott, Neville Island, west of Pittsburgh.

Very attractive room and Maura at the desk has given us a river view. She also dogs an internet reception problem so by the time we return in the evening, I do have internet. Got to keep up with these blogs!
We head out to find Max's Allegheny Tavern, a tip from TripAdvisor, and we ask Madge the GPS to take us on non-highway roads only. We see the backside of industrial Neville Island and the backside of the Ohio River opposite Pittsburgh. Looks like a lot of good pizza in this town.

And then there is Max'sAllegheny Tavern.

An old German restaurant whose standards never slipped. Locally made wurst for both of us and a German pilsner on tap for me. Great service and some of the best food we've had on this long trip.
We enter the address of the Frick House and explore Pittsburgh a bit, as a degestivo.

We start in a neighborhood called the Mexican Wars Streets. ??
Pittsburgh, for those of you who do not know, is a city where three rivers meet. Three Rivers Stadium?
That means a lot of bridges.

And it's a city of hills which means tunnels.

Squirrel Hill is where Tom Rea grew up. It's a long way from Casper.
Frick lived there too.

The neighborhood has lots of restaurants and shops, and an Art house.

The Princess of Montpensier is directed by John's friend Bertrand Tavernier. It's good. Go see it.
This is our last hotel night. Just one more reading to go.

Good night. See you in Schenectady.

Chicago

2011-06-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

It's nice to wake up in a pleasant place and not have to pack. John and I are up early to exercise in the neighborhood.

Along the lake and up to Northwestern University campus.

And past these giant, wonderful houses.

There's a good breeze here by the lake, but it's already pretty hot. And in Chicago?

It's hot. We park and immediately go into AC for cold drinks.
Our next stop in Columbia College where John is doing an interview for a documentary about the Chicago author Nelson Algren. Here is John with Producer Gale Sonnenfeld and Director Michael Caplan.

The photo is really to show you this facade of the old Famous Players-Lasky Building, incorporated into this spiffy new addition to the Columbia College campus. Impressive studio too.

Anybody want to invest in a doc about Nelson Algren? Keep your eye on Kickstarter. After another interview, journalist John Kelly and his girlfriend Janet give us a ride to the place where John is reading for the Printers Row Literary Festival.

Here is John with Elizabeth Taylor (in blue) looking about 25 years old. Elizabeth introduces John and guides the Q&A. John reads "Shave and a Haircut" for the last time on the tour. I think he has been inspired by the really good reader of our latest Faulkner audiobook, SANCTUARY, and he gets the voices spot on this time.

A very appreciative audience, as one would expect in Chicago. And here come the friends.

Maureen O'Connor's VISTA mate, Marie.

Our excellent Accountant from PASSION FISH, Karen Eisenstadt. It was such a treat to see her, and she was even more surprised than I was to see little Chelsea Marcantel all grown up. Chelsea, Angelique, and Noel Marcantel played DAvid Strathairn's little kids all those years ago.

Here's Chelsea with "Mr. John" and her excellent fiance Miles. They guide us to their neighborhood Bucktown and nearby Wicker neighborhood-once the hangout of the aforementioned Nelson Algren and now a trendy neighborhood of shops and restaurants.
We ate well at Chelsea and Miles' favorite, Francesca's Forno.

Can you believe I took a picture of the restaurant and didn't get one good one of Chelsea and Miles? I am hoping to get to their wedding in Jennings in November. I'll take a good picture then.
We decline various kind invitations to explore Chicago further, and instead scoot back up to Evanston.
On the spur of the moment we go to the movies. BRIDESMAIDS and the Woody Allen are sold out, darn it, so we see X-MEN, the latest. Ho-hum is what I say, though you can see Fassbender and MacAvoy enjoying themselves. We have a nightcap in the bar at The Homestead. Very generous bartender and another time we might dress up and try the fine dining there at Quince.
Now, to bed.

Not so fast

2011-06-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Remember I said John went to have the oil changed in the rental car? Well he took it to a nearby Firestone and indeed the oil needed to be changed AND the Prius needed two rear tires! It took awhile as you can imagine to get authorization from everybody at Enterprise.

These are the guys at Enterprise, Hoboken, who handed over the Prius all those weeks ago. Good for Enterprise for honoring this arrangement: we don't leave the hotel till 11:30am, but we leave with an oil change and two new tires.
I am glad to pull out. Look at the view from the hotel

Nothing is more depressing than the view of a mall when you have no urge to shop. On the other hand,
my extra time in the hotel has given me time to remark on an excellent innovation in hotel decor, the desk lamp that is also a power strip.

Our new pal Nikki Furrer from Pudd'nHead recommends the Local Harvest Cafe for take-away lunch. It's just near The Royale.

Locally sourced,socially responsible and very delicious. These are lamps made of Mason jars.

John and I both ordered Cuban sandwiches. All the usual forms of pig, but much less grease.

The St Louis railway station.

The Mississippi River, one last time.

The Arch.
And we are off. We'll happily return to St. Louis some day.

Corn, higher than we have seen it farther North.

Grain silos. I say this, knowing very little about grain or silos.

We encounter lousy Friday evening traffic and crawl into Evanston. Luckily, it is a beautiful afternoon and I adore our hotel.

It could be Arlington Virginia or Northampton Mass. Check out this old-fashioned room.

I forgot to photograph the bathroom with its black and white tile and deep old tub. Tubs matter to me and though I appreciate the reasons for converting tubs to showers, I miss having a tub so I am very very happy at The Homestead.

TripAdvisor recommends Prairie Moon which is not far from the hotel. John is happy with his coconut shrimp and my Copper River salmon and spinach are just what I was wanting. Plus a martini. I have been enjoying cocktails on this trip.

Our hotel is in a neighborhood of great big houses right near Lake Michigan and we have a nice walk before turning in.

We have seen so few sunsets on this trip since readings are usually during those hours. Big lake.

From St Louis

2011-06-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is a day off, or at least a day of only travel. We will drive to Evanston IL with a stop on the way to see Frank Lloyd Wright's work in Oak Park.
If John gets back in time from the Firestone shop in Crestwood, down the road from our Best Western in Kirkwood. Have you ever changed the oil in a rental car? After about 7000 miles we decided it might be time.
I am organizing in his absence: s
Sending off photos to some of the nice people we've met on the road.
Filling the water bottles with ice water.
Clearing out miles of old emails.
Wishing there was a place to get a pedicure in this HUGE mall where we are staying.
Catching up on the blog.
Trying to remember where we were two nights ago. IOWA CITY! Remember that movie, IF IT'S TUESDAY IT MUST BE BELGIUM? About a European bus tour? Well I've reached that point, where I have to check my blog to see where we were. I guess it's time to head home.
And look on the map-we're on the home stretch for sure.

I have been nostalgic about home for the past few days. Cornell College area made me think of our house in New York State. And yesterday we chose to drive Rte 79 from Hannibal along the Mississippi.We saw corn fields flooded, which should have warned us that the road might be closed.

At least we got a glimpse of the Might Mississippi before we turned back. Better to have the view blocked by branches and leaves than the bridge barrier, eh?

Okay, the Hudson isn't the Mississippi but the deep green, the rolling hills, and the crazy sound of cicadas made me think of Summer in Dutchess Co. We were foiled in our plans to follow the River road, but the detour was great. After weeks of the Interstate, it's a joy to ride the backroads.

We got to the hotel in plenty of time. I blogged (three days!) and John slept. We started a Scrabble game and all of a sudden-time to meet Nikki Furrer from Puddn'Head Books! We scrambled and for the very first time our GPS Magellan, known in our car as "Madge", completely screwed up. We arrived 45 minutes late to meet Nikki which is only bad because if he had arrived on time we would have had 45 minutes more fun.

That's Nikki, owner of Puddn'Head Books, trying to hide on the back patio of the Royale. It was really interesting to talk to her about starting a new bookstore in her home town. How can the Independent Bookstore be dead when people like Nikki are opening new stores with energy and love?

The Royale is Steve's. It's a cool place and i could happily have lingered here. Bit of New Orleans on Kingshighway, St. Louis. Try the catfish tacos.

I realized why Nikki was cool about leaving the Royale with only a few minutes to spare before the reading.
First, she is cool, and second because CinemaSt Louiswas co-sponsoring the event, and Nikki's colleague was all set up to help people buy books.

Somehow we lost track of the fact that the even would not be at the store. So we never saw it. Here's the link.www.puddnheadbooks.com

When we pulled into Webster College, we recognized it from our visit to St. Louis with HONEYDRIPPER a few years ago. It's a great room, and it's fun to be back.

John read the baseball chapter again, and it went well in this baseball town.
I could kick myself for not taking a "safety" of Karyn Kusama's parents, our loyal St. Louis fans.

If the Kusamas will forgive me for the jiggle, I hope you will too.
Many thanks to Steve and Nikki and Cinema St. Louis for a great evening.

Short but sweet.

South to Iowa City

2011-06-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is the first time on this tour we have actually backtracked, right down the same track, I-35. And I find I don't mind.The town of Albert Lea stuck in my head anyway, or actually the Albert Lea rest stop on I-35 N, and I am happy to pass by it again.
When did you last learn something at a rest stop? Well, at Albert Lea rest stop I learned that all this part of the prairie was Dry Oak Savanna. Now I what I see out the window I look at differently.

This name, Blooming Prairie? It's a misnomer. This cleared land, whatever is grown on it and god bless the work, is a replacement for a magnificent oak forest that bloomed across the prairie as far as the eye could see.

I have always been intrigued by these little islands of domesticity in these vast fields. In the Winter they are even more touching.
Thanks to Albert Lea rest stop, I am seeing something new.

These are islands of original prairie, with their Dry Oak forests. Think about that. Original prairie. And the are marked with little dots on a map at the Albert Lea rest stop.

We cross the Cedar River into Cedar Rapids, en route to Mount Vernon.

Why Mount Vernon? Because the Lincoln Cafe has such a great reputation? No, because my nephew Marco is entering Cornell College, Mount Vernon Iowa this Fall. Stay for a short tour of the campus.

Could we have visited on a more beautiful day? We took a back road from Mount Vernon to Iowa City, through Solon, and the area reminded John and me so much of upstate New York. It makes sense since New York State's heyday was the 1850's when Cornell was started.
Now I'll be able to picture you, Marco!

How's this for fancy? Iowa City!? Hotel Vetro. Fabulous decor, huge bathtub, lackluster Reception.
A short walk around the block in the third city to be designated a City of Literature by UNESCO.
(the other three?http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/november/112008unesco.html).
Prairie Lights shines in this context. a beautiful store that managed to turn out a lot of Sayles fans even after the Exodus: Iowa University just went on vacation.

They only have that one Prairie Lights sign in the window.

I always feel bad for the worker who has to man the cash register when the reading is going on in another part of the store.

The reading space is in a bright upstairs room and Paul does a passionate, funny introduction. He is a great John Sayles fan and is not afraid one little bit of John's politics. John reads "Wild Ride" which about Hogan's Army, the Western arm of Coxey's Army. Lost? Read the book!

It was sweet-bittersweet to meet Mary, sister of Cora Bennett who was our pal Adam Lefevre's wife.

And this lady (Barbara?) has been reading my blog, this blog, so of course I include her picture.

Nick from the Iowa Review wants to publish something of John's. Paul and John are being funny.
At dinner after I wished I was back at Lucia's. I am starting to remember how well-and healthily- we eat at home.

Minneapolis

2011-06-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

I know I have been to Minneapolis in Spring and even Summer, but it's those cold Winter visits I remember, so this green drive is really a pleasure. We have so many friends from Minnesota and we list them and talk about them all.
This must be the 5th time we have seen a wind turbine propeller (are those the right words?) go by on a giant carrier.

There are so many windmills here.

Giant fields of them. I still think they are beautiful.

I could tell you this was the Mississippi or the North Racoon or the South Skunk and you'd never know. Almost all my river photos look the same, I know. Blame the Highway Department for those concrete walls. All of them are full up and into the trees.

I never have anything nice to say about these fast food chains, but here I say to so many of them,
"THANK YOU". They have the best, cleanest restrooms and we stop at them often, just for that purpose. Look how colorful this one is.
Faulkner makes the miles fly by: Keith Carradine reads "Spotted Horses", Debra Winger reads "Barn Burning", and Arliss Howard reads "Wash". All read well and I am a Faulkner convert.
Suddenly, after hours of prairie, the Big Smoke.

The Normany is a classic 60's hotel in a neighborhood that has a confused identity now. Look at the pool in the atrium.

The hallways are paved with multicolored slate, shellacked, and the exterior looks the same as the walls in the pool room. It's French.

And Lucia's is American. American food at its best which means seasonal, fresh, and local. And a GREAT cocktail called a Vesper (equal parts gin and vodka, with Lillet, made like a martini). I found Lucia's on Tripadvisor by looking for a restaurant close to Magers &Quinn where John is reading tonight. Boy were we lucky.
Just a note on the AAA Travel Guide tips for restaurants: they may be recommending places where Americans go to stay fat.

Magers & Quinn is another fantastic bookstore. Smaller-much smaller-than Powell's but it reminds me of Powell's long ago. Shelves and shelves of books, new and used mixed and not too carefully filed so you do a little more looking somehow. Dave Enyeart is the event coordinator and he and his crew are happy to have us there.

John reads "Tramps" in a slightly different edit, tending towards the Ojibway character Big Ten. The audience loves it and loves him. They buy a lot of books and I see a couple of fans ordering THINKING IN PICTURES to learn more about how John thinks and writes.

Here is John with Al Milgrom. If John is the godfather of US Independents, Al is the grandfather of the US Art House. Talking with Al was a nice way to end a great night.

Good night, Minneapolis.

I-80 Nebraska

2011-06-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

That is the name of the first short story John ever had published, by Atlantic Monthly in, what, 1975? It was about a renegade trucker, going crazy on too many pills, riding with a load of rotting beef. Most of the talk is on CB radios. Remember CB radios?
Now we are in our rented Prius, listening in out little capsule to Faulkner on an ipod.

We arrive at our hotel in downtown Omaha in mid-afternoon on Memorial Day. I love this hotel. I love an old downtown hotel that has done a good job of renovating. Can you tell these are wonderful chandeliers in the lobby?

It's a space-age shape, all described in crystals. And look at this wonderful courtyard. You could have a good party here.

All hotels should have free wireless internet, as the Magnolia does. Seldom do you get free internet in the high-end hotels which is nuts when you are paying all that money. The Magnolia and all the other hotels we are staying in have free wireless. That's one of my criteria.
We both do some work, then go down to the bar for free happy hour (another bonus at the Magnolia) and then out for a look around.
This area is halfway through transition to trendy, I guess.
Plenty of old buildings preserved thoughtfully.

Somebody thought of a cool old-new way to advertise the new businesses.

And there are funky stores and some Art

And a lot of plaques for what used to be. This tells us this building had a swimming pool in its basement.

"Pave paradise, put up a parking lot". I complain to John a lot about that here in Omaha. Big chunky parking garages ruining every corner. Joni Mitchell had no idea...
It's incredibly windy. We left North Platte a little concerned about storms in Minnesota reaching as far west as Omaha.
Can you see the wind in this picture?

Our nice waiter at Magnolia assures us we will be safe in this strong, old building. Maybe we'll have thunderstorms. We are tucked so deep in the Magnolia that we don't hear a thing.

I think the architect was thinking of Paris.
We sleep like tops and have a quick breakfast in the groovy bar. These free breakfasts are a nice feature of American hotels, one that has finally caught on.

And we're off to Minneapolis. It's been nice to have a day off.

10 minutes at the Normandy Hotel in Minneapolis

2011-06-01T07:02:00.000-07:00

John is finishing the laundry and I'm catching up while listening to NPR.
Our pal Glenda Carino from Seattle just sent me a great photo from the reading at Elliott Bay, Seattle.

Here's John with Steve Earle. Steve is a triple threat these days, touring with the book and then with the music, and we just heard Treme is renewed for another season so he'll be back on TV as HARLEY.
You can learn all about him at http://steveearle.com/. Good luck, Steve Earle.

Why North Platte?

2011-05-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

No point in spending idle hours in Denver when we have many miles to go till John's next reading in Minneapolis, May 31. That's what I was thinking when I planned this trip way back in April, and I'm glad since Denver seems hot after all the cool weather and it's good to wake up in North Platte, 4 hours further down the road-in Nebraska!
John runs and I take a walk along the Platte, right by our hotel.

Walking across the bridge we disturb a giant flock of swallows. Somehow the camera can't pick them up. Can you tell it's already getting hot here, and it's windy?
We've been following the terrible tornadoes east of us in Missouri and we are impressed to find this laminated card in our hotel room:TORNADO WATCH AND WARNING PROCEDURES

The day is hot and already windy. We hear that Omaha, our destination for today, may receive the tail end of storms headed for Minnesota. We'll keep an eye out and listen to the radio if the sky turns strange.
We travel on old Rte 30 through North Platte.

This is a road whose time is past , and we are driving to the past, to visit Scout's Rest Ranch, the home of a great figure from the past, Buffalo Bill Cody.

This is where Buffalo Bill came home to when he was on the road. It's a wonderful house, perfectly maintained, with a great collection of memorabilia. I am going to give you a quick tour of the rooms.

On the first floor, there's Bill himself in the parlor by the dining room, and the kitchen below with all the modern conveniences- for 1866.

The wallpaper is cowboy motif (of course) and you see it here by the finial of a most beautiful wood stove.

And of course the parlor has a piano.

Bill and his wife Louisa Federici had three daughters and one son and many visitors came to stay, so the house is big with many bedrooms.

There is a warren of rooms filled with artifacts from Cody's great career.

This card is about the horse who belonged to Sitting Bull. Worth reading if you click on it to enlarge.
The house and 4000 acres plus barns and stables for 150 horses were assembled when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was the rage and Cody was making money.

How do you spell "corral"?

With John Sayles for scale, imagine the size of this buffalo when he was in his skin. The museum does present facts concerning the appalling slaughter of the buffalo.

And this wooden gadget, on a replica of a Mormon horse drawn wagon, is a kind of odometer to measure the many miles travelled. Way easier in the Prius.

I didn't know Annie Oakley was beautiful.

I wish I had been alive to see Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
The grounds are beautifully maintained.

The elderly volunteer in the barn is welcoming and informative when we ask her questions. The guide in the house is no guide at all. My hat is off to the State Parks of Nebraska for maintaining this wonderful property to such a high standard, but a great museum is interpreted and the Buffalo Bill State Historical Park is hardly interpreted at all.

We drive back through the town of North Platte, right past silos of grain. Wheat?

Cross the river again and we are on our way across Nebraska. Oregon Trail

We stop for the snack we have been learning about at Runza in Kearney.

It's a stuffed sandwich of spiced meat with optional mushrooms, possibly Czech in origin. Too cheesy and salty but worth trying.
Really strong, hot wind and it takes a little muscle to keep the car on the road all the way to Omaha where we arrive in mid-afternoon.

We are glad to be out of the car and settle in happily to the Magnolia Hotel, downtown Omaha, with time to catch up. Pictures of the Magnolia to come.

Denver and then on to North Platte

2011-05-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

We are up early to say goodbye to Barb and Tom (did I really need to drink all that wine?) and the rain that came down all night is pretty solid as we drive over the North Platte and head towards Denver.

It's an ugly drive in bad rain and all the color has left the planet.
Till we arrive in Denver at noon to a world of sunshine, and a Clear Channel interview with Irene Rawlings. What a musical voice, and a very nice lady.

Sorry about the sun, Irene.
John and I have time to drive to nearby Tattered Cover, and I remember that when we were making SILVER CITY in Denver, I came to a Sunday market here. Yes indeed, the Fresh Market is still on and we have an expensive gyro

and sit in City Park so John can prep his chapter for the reading.

This branch of Tattered Cover is new since we were in Denver

and it is right next door to an independent theater under new management, the Denver Film Center where AMIGO will open on 9/23. How's that for synchronicity?

We are delighted that so many people show up for the reading at 2pm on a sunny Holiday weekend. John reads "Volunteers" wherein Hod and Big Ten accidentally join the Colorado Volunteers.
Tattered Cover runs a well organized reading, overseen by these ladies

We meet Rob who is a PGW rep who works with McSweeney's.
Paula Singer worked on CITY OF HOPE and lives in Denver now.

And Mimi's friend Toni and I finally meet. She'll be at Mimi's 60th and I'm sorry to miss it.

When we were with Dave Eggers in San Francisco, I remarked that we didn't see many under-50's at the readings. Where are the McSweeney's regulars? Well here are two, who came to Tattered Cover.
Thanks for coming.

We are finished with our work in Denver by 4pm so we get back on the road for the 4 hour drive to North Platte. Nebraska!

Plains

Trains

Feedlots

And the fog settles in so we could be on the moon. We lose an hour to Central Pacific Time and arrive in time to have dinner and go to bed.
We have recrossed the Continental Divide. We are no longer in the West.

Casper Wyoming

2011-05-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today is a day off. We rise late and exercise. John shoots hoops in Pioneer Park with homeless men as an audience. I paddle in the hotel pool and then the jacuzzi. We are both getting soft and I can't kid myself that this is exercise.
Which miserable admission does not keep me from taking from the big Hampton breakfast one biscuit and sausage patty sandwich for the road.

We say goodbye to those snow covered mountains as we head East to the Wyoming border.

Those massive cliffs of colored rock begin.

If Tom Rea were with us he could tell us where the chartreuse green comes from.

Little America has spiffed up since we crossed the country in the 70's and 80's. Now they advertise 24 marble bathrooms. Truckers have spiffed up too, I guess.

It's surprising what kind of photos the driver can take going 80 on an interstate.

Wind breaks appear, as well as signs indicating that sometimes this major interstate will just be closed for weather. What do you do then?

Trains, long and often and I feel compelled to try to document every one.

If the sun was out it might be more beautiful than we could bear.

This buckled formation looked scalloped at the bottom

and sometimes you can hear the groan of when it all shifted.

We are following the Mormon Trail, in reverse. Picture those wagons.

Not that you can see the sun to know where you are headed, but we turn North from Rawlins. Galia and Alan and I were here years ago to visit the prison which has become a museum.
All of a sudden, flashing lights? We are pulled over for speeding. John passed a car going 82 in a 65 zone. I am resigned. John is pissed off, at himself of course. Officer Davis ambles back after the usual interval and let's us go. I'm sure John hasn't had a speeding ticket in 25 years. Thank you Officer Davis.

And look at the North Platte River, filling up its banks.

These are out pals Tom and Barb Rea and this is their really great house. You would be surprised how many rooms are in this house. Don and Edith have driven down from Sheridan. Tom and John are friends from Williams College. Barba and I met when she and Tom were dating, and she and I fell in love in Jeremiah Johnson Hot Springs on the Idaho-Montana border. Was that 1977?

Salt Lake and Sam Weller's

2011-05-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

You might get tired of hearing about it, but it's all anyone talks about here:it has been a long, wet Spring. As we cross the Salmon River to leave Boise, we remark again at the height of the water, right up into the trees along the bank.

Because we weren't smart enough to know there would be a very nice continental breakfast at the Modern Hotel, we left hungry. And stopped early.

Of course I had a potato. This stop (AAA recommended) was so close to the (AAA recommended) Shoshone Falls, that we decided to take a short detour. Through huddled housing developments and then into farmers fields, and then, WOW.

The waitress at Idaho Joe's was taking her son to the Falls this afternoon because word is out that the water is high. In the summer they are sometimes a trickle, all the water captured for irrigation. The guy at the ticket booth (it's worth the 3 bucks, don't worry) still had stars in his eyes as he talked about the rainbows he saw over Shoshone Falls this morning.

I don't want to miss showing you some of the lilacs we saw. Never have I seen so many big healthy lilac bushes. I want to bring them all into the car for the smell.

But we are driving on, to Salt Lake today, about 5 hours through a windy world of subtle colors. High plains, I guess, but with big mountains always in the distance.

If I lived here I would paint landscapes.

Keep your eye on the sky.

I guess these are the colors the local artists use.

Those scuddy marks in the clouds usually mean troubled weather but the weather holds for our arrival in Salt Lake.

Our pleasant Hampton Inn Downtown is a short walk to Sam Weller's Bookstore and the office of City Weekly whose founder John Saltas is an old friend from NXNW days, through Louis Black (see our Austin stop). John treats us to a nice meal and a fine cocktail at Bambara in the Hotel Monaco. Check out the link http://bit.ly/kYcqov to a nice interview in City Weekly, written by Scott Renshaw.
John Saltas has to go to a kid's baseball game, so he'll miss John's reading at Sam Weller's but Tony Weller joins us for supper and the reading.

We have fun with him and his beautiful daughter Lila Ann and her equally beautiful grandmother Ann.
Sam Weller's is enormous and justly famous. Wally at Rediscovered Books in Boise talked about it with awe, and no wonder.

John read "Tramps" to a good crowd who must have been pleased to hear Salt Lake City mentioned in the chapter. Really nice staff. They sold a lot of books!

And we add to the collection of old friends gathered up on the road.

Hannah Rea is thriving as an RN for Hospice in Salt Lake. Here she is with her friend Gates. In Portland we saw Hannah's brother Adam. Tomorrow we'll be with their parents Tom and Barb in Casper. All we are missing is brother Max.

And I told you you'd be surprised, Lisa.

John "Solly" Sutton who left his nightclub in Park City to come hear John read. Solly was our Sound Mixer on several movies including MATEWAN and PASSION FISH. So sweet to see old friends.

The Road to Boise

2011-05-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

It won't surprise anyone who knows the Northwest that our drive began in clouds and rain. Here we are crossing out of Seattle.

The mountains are full of lakes and with all the rain and snow melt, they are all brimming right up to the ditches by the side of the road. It's no fun to drive in the rain but we have had such great weather on this trip we decide not to complain. (That's because John is driving.)

Then look what happened! Sun. Suddenly it's the Wonderful World of Color.

I had my first good idea of the morning which was to take the Scenic Drive marked on the road atlas with ............ We left the highway (I-5?) and drove onto Rte 621 through Yakima Canyon. Follow me.

Stay close.

The Yakima River is right up into the trees.

I don't think you can see the hundreds of swallows that swoop down to the water.

See the train?

No signage, no cars, one or two houses. One fly fishing camp.

I hope I never forget Yakima Canyon.

All vineyards and fields on the other side. This is southern Washington State.

We cross into Oregon, so different from the other side of the state with its big trees.

Wind breaks to protect the grape vines.

Fields are vast and irrigated. Wind turbines by the score. Makes sense to me out here.

Dreadful picture, but it's all you'll see of the Roll On, Columbia River, so I have to include it.

In the distance we see four structures whose roofs are covered with the same ground cover we see growing in the wild. Pink.

Big sky and we speculate again on what weather lies ahead. It's never boring to travel this way. Moving as fast as we do, there is always something new to see, and then, what lies ahead?

The answer is Pendleton, Oregon. Really good choice for our early lunch. This is where it's good to have the AAA Travel Guides. We gauge the miles and figure out where we'll be around lunch and look in the guide for a place near the highway (but not ON the highway, NO) where there's a likely restaurant and maybe a little local color. Pendleton is the home of the Round-Up, a big rodeo, and also of the Pendleton (blankets) Woolen Mill.

The bias of the AAA Guides is family/predictable. They also can be out of date, not surprisingly. We check out one venerable tourist restaurant and go instead for the Prodigal Son Brewery. Wouldn't you?

I have a tasty burger from a local butcher Hill Meats, with Oregon's Tillamook. John has a fancy ham sandwich from the same butcher. And I have the Prodigal Son Beer Sampler.

Maybe you can see that the sampler comes with a menu and the glasses are placed on a tray with a wheel of numbers so you can keep track of what beer, ale, porter and stout you are sampling.

I liked almost all of them. John drives, to the Cookie Tree Bakery. They made the bread at Prodigal Son.

Apparently there's an underground of shops left from the old days, a tour now for tourists. This place is on the tour too.

I am planning my next trip to Pendleton.

I nap in the car. It's the sample catching up with me.

The land is an amazing combination of colors including the new green of Spring and deep rose.

We pass ranges of snow covered mountains all day, from Washington, through Oregon, and into Idaho.

Everywhere we see that the rivers and ditches are full. And the final snow in the mountains has yet to melt.

This is not the only cement plant we see.

A Stegosaurus is asleep under this pink and green hill.

We reach our day's destination, Boise Idaho and the Modern Hotel and Bar. I have been looking forward to this stop since I talked to Mary Portser who acted in Boise recently and recommended the hotel.

It is a groovy renovation of a 60's motel. Very successful in my opinion. Later on we'll dine here on smoked trout (local) and a salad of faro and feta (local). Are you surprised? Boise IS a surprise.

We asked McSweeny's if John could sign stock in an independent bookstore that wasn't on the tour. Wally at Rediscovered Books had heard John Sayles might come by to sign, but I don't think she thought it would really happen.

Seattle, our northermost stop

2011-05-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

Kate Tesar and Damon Jorgenson are our hosts. Kate has made her pretty house prettier since she moved full time to Seattle from Juneau, where we met years ago.

Through Kate we met Glenda Carino and through Glenda we met Peter Bacho. Peter and Glenda are going to help us let the Filipino community of the Pacific Northwest know about AMIGO. Just watch us.

Kate is in charge of us tonight. She escorts our growing entourage to the Tin Room in the Oddfellows Hall. Look at us with our good pals Pam and Steve Lang. They are all tanned which means they have not been in the rainy Northwest, but in their place in sunny Arizona.
We are at Elliott Bay, another great independent bookstore. Look at the line-up of authors tonight.

Here are Karen and Greg with John

They have to set up extra seats to fit everyone who straggles in: rain and terrible Seattle traffic. John reads "Salvation" which is set in Seattle.
Steve Earle stopped in to say hi to John. Glenda, will you send me a photo?
We sleep well in this comfortable house, and say goodbye in a drizzling rain.

Thanks, Kate. You're a pal.

I-5 North to Yreka CA and on to Portland

2011-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

First, John does a radio call-in show (Salt Lake City?) from the hotel room. They ask him to read from his book but he doesn't have a copy in the room, so they scan and send it-sideways. And that is how he reads it. He is a very good sport about everything and is having a very good time on this trip.
We have been to all 50 states in the U.S. That's right, all 50. But we have never driven north from San Francisco area through central California.

The early part is familiar, with those yellow hills dotted with dark green live oaks, and then vineyards and orchards. We stop for lunch at one of those joints that must have grown and added on over the years of serving travelers.

Very right wing newspaper. And a pick up full of dieties.

Rice fields. Pretty crazy considering this is a dry area.

Olive orchards make more sense. And they explain why the muffaletta mix on at Granzella's was so good.
All of a sudden we are in Lake Shasta country. I'm sorry these photos can't capture it. We are enchanted by a place we've never been.

Yreka is a night off and we arrive early enough to wander the historical center a bit before dinner. The motel wasn't special and neither was the Thai dinner, but the town is pretty with many buildings preserved and labeled.

Spring is just fully arrived here. See the wisteria just blooming now.

This plaque reminds us that Yreka Bakery is a palindrome.

Wonderful lattice.
In the morning I drop off John for a haircut in this great old barbershop.

I go off in search of coffee and am served cheerfully. This is a nice town.

And we are back on the road, north towards Portland.

Farmland and spectacular snow covered mountains.

What can this crop be? All white flowers.
We stop in Corvallis where John signs stock at Grassroots Books. They are happy to see him.

Have you noticed it's a sunny day?
We check into our Portland hotel, The Mark Spencer. Updated, very comfortable and the kitchen is from 1960.

Bernadette Spear, daughter of Andy and Nancy Spear from Juneau, has organized dinner at Little Bird. I am happy to see her and grateful she did the organizing. I get tired of being in charge.

We are joined by Daniel and Marta's friends Kimberly and Jeffrey St. Clair, and with Jeffrey and John below, Bernadette's boyfriend Kyle. Good company and great, plump mussels with a crisp Willamette Valley chardonnay. Just what I wanted.

And we are off to the Holy of Holies, Powell's. New and used books side by side in a spacious, beautifully organized store. The place is packed and John reads "Commerce". I love the chapters with Hod and Addie Lee.

Look who's here!Clifton James from EIGHT MEN OUT, LONESTAR, and SUNSHINE STATE. We were so happy to see him that we forgot to get his contact information. Anybody out there know where Cliff is?

Then Kathy Hayes' daughter. Tiffany?

And Barb and Tom Rea's son Adam with very cute Courtney.

These guys must be really proud to work at such a great bookstore. POWELL'S!

A Day in San Francisco

2011-05-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our stay at The Orchard Hotel on Bush Street. How many little hotels are there in San Francisco? Our room was pretty big, we could hear the clang of the Powell St cable car, and we had a Terra Cotta and Nob Hill view.

It's a beautiful city and today we have a mission that will take us all around it. John is signing "stock" at three bookstores and then more at McSweeny's at the end of the day. First, a nice downhill walk through the shuttered (it's Sunday) financial district, down to the Ferry Landing.
First, breakfast in the former Ferry Terminal, now eating and shopping. It's a handsome transformation, obviously very popular, and so American: we love to turn history into shopping. I have Acme bread and Blue Bottle cappucino. John has Ciao Bello gelato. Each to his own.

That would be the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Book Passage is our first signing stop.
Ron is very efficient. Sorry the exposure isn't better. Blame the view.

This store is doing well, a branch of the mother store in Marin. Here are Ron's colleagues.

It's such an easy thing to do, to stop by this good bookstore on a pretty Sunday morning. Everybody's happy. And Ron sends us to Yank Sing for dim-sum. Thank you so much, Ron! Best dim-sum I've ever had, and there was room for us at the bar.

Back up the hill to The Orchard Hotel to pick up our car and then off to Books, Inc. I think they were surprised to see us.

Then a drive to a neighborhood we had never heard of, West Portal, and the West Portal Bookstore. Happy, busy place. It's definitely time to revise your ideas if you thought the independent bookstore was dead.
The West Portal Bookshop.

The boss.

The workers.

The neighborhood.
Then we drive and park so we can explore the Mission. There is funky Mission.

Yep, those are prescription pill bottles, made into a chandelier.

And here's a truck selling fresh coconut, hacked with a machete and stuck with a straw. Fresh buko, Mexican style.
And over on Mission Street itself, it IS Mexico, and all of Central America. It's like 5th St in Los Angeles.

And lost history.

It's kind of chilly by now, so we stop for a beer and a bite at Radish. Fancy southern bar food, frogs, cats and puppies, all fried.

Yum. Then we visit the Pirate Store which is the storefront that legitimizes the real work that is done by 826 which is Eggers non-profit tutoring and publishing organization. Check it out at http://826national.org/about
It's the real thing.
And so is McSweeny's. We stop by the HQ to sign and meet the other guys.

A cool bunch and John get's to be one of them. Chris (in the mint green) is the editor of Lucky Peach, the new food quarterly McSweeny's is delivering to the publisher tomorrow. None of these guys will get much sleep tonight.
Then there's the reading. This day is made up of many parts!
We drive with Jordan Bass to North Beach. Green Apple Books is the sponsoring store. Here is the owner Kevin (2nd from right) with Russell on his left,McSweeney's newly recruited digital media guy, all the way from England.Tom Barbash next to Jordan Bass on the left.

I think John was brave to read "Obstetrics". It is not cool and manly but beautifully humane. In it a father delivers his daughter's baby. I would say the audience loved it. And then they were blown away when, in answer to the question, "Have you ever attended a birth", John told them,yes, once when he was hitchhiking. He's quiet a guy, my old man.
I was so pleased to see Abe Ignacio back again, with some friends. More converts to the AMIGO release!

I heard one fan say he had come all the way from Ukiah. Our pal Bennett Smith came down from Santa Rosa with her daughter Hallie. They are joined by our friend Chris Coplans who happened to be in town from the UK. Too much!

And I was really excited finally to meet my Kitchen Sister heroine Davia Nelson. If you don't know their wonderful audio work check out http://www.kitchensisters.org/. Listen and Donate.

The reading was at Tosca Cafe. Davia calls it a "sacred place" because of all the writers who have worked and drunk and even slept there.

Our evening ended back in the Mission at some cool new Chinese restaurant owned by Chris's friend. We ate really well. I forget the name of the restaurant and WORSE I finally got to meet Dave Eggers and the only picture I took of him is so bad I won't post it.
McSweeny's publishing John's book is the nicest thing that has happened to us in a long time.
Thanks, Dave.

Oakland, Diesel Books

2011-05-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is a drive we know, from Santa Barbara to San Francisco. During our two years in Santa Barbara we would drive up to see Aki and Brian (of Oblong Books post, way back in Rhinebeck) to visit them at the Union Street School of Acting and Cooking.
This are familiar views, of ocean and vineyards, and those soft yellow hills with dark green live oaks.

It's a sunny, breezy Saturday in Oakland which has not seen much sun this Spring, and Rockridge feels festive. Diesel Books is very well prepared for our visit. Here's John pointing at the window full of his books. Dressed in his travel attire.

And the table displays remind the store's visitors. It's simple, but not everyone does it.

Grant welcomes us. The team will clear away the movable shelves to make room for the audience.

In the meantime, John and I take a stroll through the pretty neighborhood with my sister Mary Jo and her good pal Rebecca who have come down from Santa Rosa for the fun.

John goes to do an interview with Ed Guthman for the SF Chronicle while we ladies share delicious pizza at Oliveto.
It's a very good crowd, all the seats full and SRO and Grant does a very good introduction.(Grant, will you send it so I can post it?) John reads "On the Hip" which involves opium, to a crowd that loves it.

John's Q& A is always good, but here he has some local observations. As we walked the neighborhood I saw the street sign "Manila Street". Then there was Taft, Lawton and Shafter, and it was of course John who knew that Taft was the first US appointed Governor of the Philippines, and Lawton and Shafter were US Generals in the Fil-Am War. Impressive?
We have just driven through Milipitas where AMIGO will open on August 19 because of the large Filipino population there, so we aren't surprised to find Fil-Ams in the audience. We ARE surprised and so pleased to meet Abe Ignacio and Jorge Emmanuel, authors of THE FORBIDDEN BOOK:The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons. This was one of John's sources and I know that Abe and Jorge will be pleased to see the way John uses cartoons and illustrations to tell A MOMENT IN THE SUN.

I know that Abe and Jorge will help us get people in to see AMIGO and I can't wait to introduce them to our distribution team. It pleases me to introduce Bing to one of his elders, two generations of Fi-Am activists, meeting in a great bookstore, around a book that means a lot to them.

Sorry for the poor focus. Bing, be in touch?
And then the old friends!

OMG. Next to me in Caroline Mitchell Hall from Williams College Class of "73, Our PGW boss Elise, and her college pal Deborah Hall. Then Ita Roberts' pal Ann about whom I have heard so much

And the new partners, Caroline's Michael Mitchell, and Marta MacDonald's JB Lowe. Sweet.
Here we are with lots of McSweeneys

Elise Cannon of PGW, Adam Krefman from McSweeny's and finally the Editor of A MOMENT IN THE SUN, Jordan Bass. Thank you, Diesel Books. It was one of the best nights of the tour.

Santa Barbara

2011-05-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's always sweet for John and me to be in Santa Barbara. It's beautiful, we lived there in the late 70's, and we have good friends there.
Here's Mimi Kaupe, our hostess.

And around the table in Mark Piznarski and Mimi's backyard, Perry Lang, Luke's excellent new girlfriend Lauren, Luke Renzi-Robertson, Mark himself, Sage Parker, Mimi, and John. So nice to be with friends after bad traffic and a ridiculous detour on 101.
When Mimi and Mark first moved to Santa Barbara, we walked by Chaucer's Bookstore and I said,
"This will be your local bookstore." It is, and it is the location of John's reading today.

A nice introduction by the manager to a rather small group of very keen listeners.

It was fun for me to have my nephew Luke here. (Go back to Austin and you'll see his sisters Jessie and Rachel at BookPeople). We go back to Mimi and Mark's guest house, a pretty place to wake up in and a hard place to leave.

For Mimi's many friends, a more detailed look of the house a garden, on which she has worked so hard.

It would be nice to stay, but the road calls.

Los Angeles

2011-05-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to be out of the traffic and into the quiet of Playa Vista. This morning it looks like a film set.

Janet and Jake and I talk a walk on the bluff by Loyola Marymount, just above their house. So nice to have a nature walk nearby, and fun to be with a family that really enjoys their city.

An old friend from Barnard College days stops by for lunch: Penny Finkleman-Cox with Janet and me. Below you'll see another friend from the same era, Janet Axelrod, who came to our Porter Square reading, way back in Cambridge.

Lovely middle-aged ladies.
No matter when we visit, the flora of Los Angeles is always amazing. Right now it is the outrageous purple of the jacaranda in bloom. Puts me in mind of Guadalajara and Buenos Aires. Ain't I lucky?

We go over to Venice to see Tom Wright and Leigh Johnson. They live on a "walk street".

We say goodbye to beautiful Rae, off to her last days of high school.

LA is always a social ramble for us and as Satchell Paige said, "The social ramble ain't restful". I gear up (or slow down) by going for massage and a manicure with Janet at a Korean spa that is so special I'm not going to tell you the name of it. A Korean lady walks on my back. I am so happy. John has lots of writing meetings and interviews, but he also gets to run and shoot hoops so we are in good shape to meet our friends at Pinot for a bite before the ALOUD reading at the Downtown Public Library.
John gets there first, and finds filmmaker Ham Tran with his girlfriend Jayn, a clothing designer. Sweethearts.

The party fills out

Karyn Kusama & Phil Hay with Cate Park.

And Cari Beauchamp, and Michael Lazo. Here is Michael with our pal Janet Tashjian. Michael treats us to this happy gathering. Michael Lazo always earns Special Thanks.

The reading tonight is wonderful, John doing two Irishmen in "Current Events". ALOUD at the LA Public Library is in a beautiful auditorium, nearly every seat filled. Many happy customers buying books afterwards.

Howard Rodman was an excellent interlocutor. Here he is with Louise Steinman who runs this excellent series.

Now, to bed!

All the way to California

2011-05-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

The weather is changing overnight and we watch it grow as we head to California.

We are deep into Keith Richards by now and the miles fly. The second reader is more histrionic than Johnny Depp, but the stories are good. By now John and I are talking a lot about our other cross-country drives. Once, in a Drive-Away. Does that still happen? Somebody needs a car delivered across the country and gives it to two strange kids and says, see you in California? Then we drove in the winter of 1977 to live in Santa Barbara. We drove back with my sister Marta to make RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN in 1978, and drove back to Santa Barbara with a car full of film. We drove one last time-1979?-to return to live in New York. That's 5 times crossing the country together, and by tonight the count will be 6. That's not counting the times John hitch hiked in the 60's and early 70's, and when I drove on the Gone to Look for American Pie Tour with Galia and Alan the year John made EIGHT MEN OUT.

John and I have seen a lot of America.
I am driving as we plunge down the San Bernardino Mountains into fog and rain. Ugh. We are back in civilization. We make the mistake of jumping into the commuter lane and end up circling around Downtown till we peel off and stop on Western for some Korean food.

By the time we get to Janet and Doug Tashjian's in Playa Vista, I am very happy for a beer. We have arrived in California.

Route 66

2011-05-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Holbrook, at the advice of the AAA Travel Guide to Arizona and New Mexico. A mob of Norwegian bikers may have used the same reference book, because they sat down right after us. Nice, nice ladies running it.

John chose the Chiles Rellenos.

And afterwards he asked me to take his picture with this dinosaur, which surprised me.

Little Holbrook, visited by so many foreigners, in love with a road.

Moving car shot. I'm pretty sure it's a blade for a wind turbine.
Watch the land change and the sky get really weird.

How about this cloud, right over Kingman?

At home when the clouds move in, we have rain or snow. Here it brings wind.
Since John and I drove across the country, the Motel has seen a big upgrade. Look how swell this room is, in our Best Western Kings Inn.

The only thing is, at the same time we are reminded that we can Save the Environment and re-use our towels and ask to have the sheets changed less often, what about all those pillow cases? Nobody can use that many pillows.
I am sorry the light has gone because downtown Kingman would be much prettier in that late afternoon Southwestern sunlight.

Can you have fun in Kingman?
You can have a good steak (or chicken fried steak if you are John) at Dambar's.

See some stuffed animals,

And an old friend from the MATEWAN Art Department, Bill McKinney.

Bill leads a team of 30 West Virginians revamping WalMart's. He is here in Kingman doing just that.
We are happy with our bed at the BW, but I miss the old neon that Route 66 was famous for.

Trave Day: leaving Albuquerque New Mexico

2011-05-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

How lucky we are to wake up on a bright sunny day at Casa de Sueños. Next time we will stay in Albuquerque longer and upgrade from Zuni to a room off one of these pretty gardens. Thanks for the recommendation, Mimi.

This is the entrance, on Rio Grande right near Old Town. Mysterious.

I believe that is a Velociraptor heading East.

A Good Night's Sleep

2011-05-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

We sleep very well. Our second night at this Holiday Inn in El Paso. Who would have thought? You never know. Yesterday John read the chapter "Regulars" which is about African American soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, 1899. One scene takes place in a moat with alligators. It's still a tourist attraction, but now the alligators are just a monument to the past. Pretty square. El Paso might surprise you.

It's only 4 hours to Albuquerque, a breeze. "Double Indemnity" does not end well for the wicked couple. We move on to Keith Richards autobiography as read by Johnny Depp. This is going to be fun.

Did a Tourist Board ever choose a more durable campaign than this one? We are reminded where we are when we have to slow down for inspection. I rattle on about our book tour and give the Border Patrol Officer a card with the blogspot.

It's along way from anywhere half the time.

And we reach our cute hotel, Casa de Sueños too early to check in, so I set up in the pretty garden to catch up on my emails.

I'm so proud of my plans for this trip, right down to the right audio books, but today I really screw up.
I give Annie and Dave the wrong address for lunch and they end up at a Flying Star halfway to Santa Fe instead of the one right next door to Bookworks.

Annie and Dave live in Juneau and we hardly ever see each other. It seemed like the perfect plan, to meet for lunch in ABQ before they make their drive to a meeting in Santa Fe. We have only one hour. They forgive me.

The reading at Bookworks is packed. This is the most people they have had since Annie Proulx came to the store. How bout that! Way beyond SRO and I am perched on one of those great sliding ladders to take this shot of the crowd of maybe 125.

John is in great form, reading "Mail Call" which takes place in Bisbee Arizona. Nice to be able to read chapters set in the place you're reading, eh? A big book can be very accommodating. This is a very welcoming audience, looser than most. Is that just New Mexico? Lots of books are sold including many of the Mother books that Bookworks have wisely acquired for the occasion.

Bookworks is under new ownership. If I understand the story correctly, the workers bought the store from the owner. Atomic Bookstore in Baltimore is operating under new owners, friends of the former owner who bought it from him. Porter Square Books is owned by workers who left a bad employer and started their own bookstore. You can't keep a good bookstore down, that's what I think. Here are the owners and staff of BookWorks. Albuquerque is well served, and they know it.

Of course we knew we'd see some friends here.

The Broyles sisters, from left, Sherry and Miss Kathleen.

In the center, Rainer Moore, known to many of you as one of our U.S. Soldiers, and now a college graduate. With him, his proud father Richard and his cousin Cheye.
I like Albuquerque more now, having spent some time here, and because Bookworks is a great bookstore and Flying Star is right next door. We'll be back.

It's a long way to El Paso

2011-05-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Nine and a half hours? That's what Google Maps told me all those weeks ago when I was figuring out the tour at the kitchen table. We have been dreading the drive, just a bit. We get up in the dark and slip out of the house. Our host Louis is asleep. Of course we went to bed late after talking with Louis, and waiting for Rachel to drop off my suitcase. (Dumb to have left it!)

We perk up with a doughnut (this has to stop!) and styrofoam coffee in Dripping Springs. A long drive like this is part of what a road trip is all about, and we're into it.

This is Texas.

And so is this. Handmade barbecues that take propane. I wish we had room in the car, but the road calls, and it changes to this classic Texas limestone.

We listen to James Naughton read "Double Indemnity" and the miles fly by. There aren't many places to stop for gas, and we can't linger for lunch since the reading in El Paso is early and we can't be late.
This was a lucky stop, in Hammond TX. Excellent and tidy burritos made a perfect pit stop.

Former Mexican action star turned director, Cesar Alejandro is our host here. We came to El Paso in 2007 with HONEYDRIPPER to his Bi-National Film Festival. When we were planning the book tour with Juliet Litman from McSweeny's we asked that El Paso be added to the list, because El Paso needs some love. We knew that Cesar would find the right place for a reading, though El Paso has no independent bookstore, and this beautiful new El Paso Main Library was the perfect place.

As we waited for the audience to gather we enjoyed this wonderful show of photographs from the Casasola Portrait studio, old El Paso captured in portraits. It's a beautiful and NEW library, the kind of thing that gives me hope. Several people came up to John and me to thank us for coming to El Paso. I need to remember when it feels like we are spitting in the wind that our movies have mattered to people. They tell us so.
We were pleased with the turnout of 50 people considering that today UTEP is graduating thousands of students. Cesar among them! This morning he received his Masters in Film and Theater-and managed to fit in the reading as well.

Let me introduce you, from the left, Cesar's son and cinematographer Oscar, Joe Frandina owner of Holiday Inn Express El Paso Downtown (and patron of Bi-National Film Festival), John, Cesar, and Cesar's terrific wife Laura. After a farewell dinner John and I head to Joe's hotel for an early night, and Cesar's family go back to his house to celebrate his Masters. Bravo, Cesar, y gracias.

We have so many reasons to love Austin.

2011-05-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

For the rest of you it might be music or SXSW or maybe you love the bat colony. For John and me Austin is fun with friends and family.
Here are my beautiful nieces Jessica and Rachel. Rachel is the one in red.

Jessie is leaving soon, to go to New Orleans to work with Batou and Alice and Toby, and then to teach English in Taipei.Her sister Rachel and Pio Alvarez are having a baby! Rachel is the oldest of the Renzi grandchildren and their baby will be the first Renzi great-grandchild.
Meet Pio with John on the deck Pio just finished building on his house.

He's a pearl and we're so lucky to have this new (THESE new) additions to our family. And Lizzie too! Here is our dear friend, Location Casting Director on so many of our films since LONESTAR, with her three fabulous kids.

From the left that's Cosmo, Paloma, and our goddaughter Nasrine. If I hadn't gotten busy stuffing myself with crawdads we brought from Lake Arthur, I might have remembered to take a picture of Hawkeye too. Instead, I washed my hands, grabbed the load of wash from the dryer (left my suitcase) and dashed out the door to get to BookPeople. This party way way too short.

It's a nice full crowd, filling the chairs and the couches (what a comfortable store!). Standing Room Only included Sarah and Cari Beauchamp's son Teo and our pal Louis Black. (SXSW/Austin Chronicle Louis, not the comedian, thank you.) John read "the Cloud City" which is set in Leadville, a town where we did some filming for SILVER CITY. Good questions from smart people in a comfortable place. What if all America was like this?

Our dear friend Ita's brother Bill with his wife Teen. Incredibly since I have known Ita since 1971, I have never met Bill. He lived in the Philippines for years, working for Kodak. I know he will enjoy A MOMENT IN THE SUN.

Louis, surrounded by pulchritude.

And Don Car with Sandy. He would tell you, "Don't ever sit down for dinner on South Congress where why you really traveled from Wimberly is to hear John Sayles read." Don is our friend since he worked with Phil Schneider in Props in LONESTAR. We were so happy to see each other. His Momma Kathy Carr passed away this year at a very old age. John and I lived in the same little condo building under shady live oaks in Eagle Pass. I'd be dashing in or out and Kathy Carr would take me by her cool, old lady hand and say, "You are doing such a good job." She was my guardian angel and Don is another good son, along with Will Oldham. Don't we know a lot of good people?

Look where we woke up in the morning

2011-05-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is where we slept, windows (with screens!) open to a little rainstorm over night. This is the landscape we came to love during PASSION FISH.

We say goodbye to our good friends ( I wish I had taken a picture of Mr. Marcantel, Sr.), hoping we'll make it back for Chelsea Marcantel's wedding in November.
And despite all our promises to be moderate, and that we have just had biscuits with Greg and Jean we stop for doughnuts in Jennings. I have my first kolache, which in Australia would be called a sausage roll.

It's a long drive to Austin, and so we stop for lunch. This choice comes from the AAA guides we are carrying with us, an easy way to pick a restaurant on the go. We get there just before the lunch rush and I am the thinnest person in the very large room.

We love Louisiana

2011-05-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's hard to leave New Orleans. John has an interview with one of their many excellent radio stations, WRBH Reading Radio for the Blind and Print Handicapped. Here is John with the staff ow WRBH, outside the pretty house which is their office on Magazine Street.

We don't even get out of the neighborhood before we have JUST ONE MORE MEAL. That's Fried Oyster Remoulade po'boy at a place just down Magazine Street.

This cute guy tells us "Market Price" for the oysters, and it's pricey, but we say yes, just like the guy before us did. We shared.

Don't you love that sign? I wish the rule was universal.
Our drive today is only three hours, We cross the Mississippi finally and if you look carefully you can see it's pretty high to the levees.

(It's a moving car shot, whaddaya want?) All the talk is of the release of water that may save New Orleans but will surely flood folks in Southwest Louisiana. Which is where we are going, but the release won't happen till next week.
Our destination is Jennings, LA where we lived and had our office for PASSION FISH. Here is Greg and Jean's pretty house, braggin' a new paint job.

Greg Marcantel was the mayor of Jennings while we were making PASSION FISH. He and Jean took great care of us and all the crew. We have been back often to visit them here. And we never miss a chance to go out to Lake Arthur, the town where we shot in that beautiful house belonging to Jimmy Mac's family. And we never miss stopping at the big red crawfish either. Remember it from the movie?

I switch places with Greg and Jean's daughter Angelique. We're touched she's driven down from her job in Baton Rouge to spend some time with us. We have a cup of gumbo and pick up 30 lbs of boiled crawfish. We'll carry half of that with us to Austin tomorrow and the rest of it we take out to the Marcantel camp for a Cajun feast, with lots of catching up to do.

Ther is no place like New Orleans

2011-05-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

As you can tell if you have been following us at all, we are pretty good at finding the craic ( say "crack", that's fun in Irish) where ever we go. But where in the world can you beat the craic in New Orleans?
Before we are in Hammond Louisiana before we are even inside the city limits when we stop at for a sensational fried oyster and shrimp po'boy. Portions in this part of the world are HUGE and we eat every bite.

I know there are still a million things wrong with New Orleans, but today it had on its most cheerful face. Lovely houses in perfect light. You want to take them all home.

A great, well air condidtioned independent bookstore in the neighborhood. Octavia Books.

Full of enthusiastic fans. John chatted while I helped open the wine.

Here we are with the owner, Tom Lowenburg.

The reading is packed. Tom is pleased.

Again, friends and friends of friends appear. We are so happy to see some our HONEYDRIPPER team, gathered in New Orleans for a movie to be directed by Walter Hill. Alice Baker and Batou Chandler on either side of me, and since Toby has his arm around his beautiful daughter Zoe (Art Dep PA) he won't mind that his eyes are shut.

Plummy former editing assistant Jordan introduces himself. Mostly now he is a community activist, writing about all that still needs to be done in his city.

Tom has been warned that Mr. Sayles and his wife (that would be I) won't be going out for dinner every night on this tour. But it's New Orleans and we like Tom and his wife Judith Lafitte a lot, so out we go. To Dick and Jenny's where Tom and Judith know the staff who are now the owners. When Dick and Jenny owned the restaurant Jenny would buy Octavia Books gift certificates for holiday presents. Now Tom and Judith know just who to call to get a table. It's the kind of place we would never have known about on our own, but Alice knows.

Remember we ate that big po'boy not so long ago? I have crabcakes with fried green tomatoes-just an appetizer and a salad-and proceed to help myself to Judith's stunning scallops and shrimp in coconut sauce. Man oh man.

Very happy customers.

Oxford Mississippi, Square Books.

2011-05-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get tired of spelling M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I? Well, it's easier to say out loud than to type.
We stayed in a really nice little hotel.

All the pleasures of a B&B-historical building full of character-with absent hosts, my favorite kind.
And a short pretty walk to the Square. First we went to the wrong building

And then to the right one. Square Books has two storefronts and this spacious place is great for readings.

By now I am sure we'll meet someone we know, wherever we go. Here it is Peter and Marnie Frost, Williams College and Williamstown connection, friends of my parents Helen and Ralph.

Hi, Mom, Hi Dad. Many of the readings start with a little wine and cheese warm up. I welcome that after a long day of driving.

A nice crowd of about 50 wandered in and John read and answered questions and signed books. Here he is with some of the Square books staff.

Richard and Lisa, owners of Square Books, were wonderful hosts. Here is John with Richard on his left.

I can't believe I didn't take a picture of Lisa who is a hostess after my own heart, having fun while making sure everyone else has fun. We jammed onto the balcony of City Grocery and did not go to bed right away.
Here is that balcony without us, the next morning.

You can have some fun in Oxford if you make friends at Square Books.

Today we feel like travelers

2011-05-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

We are up early after a good sleep. First stop coffee. Heine's is a community supporter along with Carmichael's, and right next door.

Will has suggested a pilgrimage to the best Louisville bakery. We are not disappointed by the doughnuts. Say it like "plains", and see for yourself.

It's a long drive to Oxford and we see what we can from the car. Or even the occasional fuel stop.
You ever been to Bucksnort?

Moving car photos, my specialty on this trip. Another heartbreaking old cinema on another Main Street in America.

I insist on at least one Scenic Road, the kind that are marked on the map with little blue dots. We go through Holly Springs, a film set practically. Like a Texas town, 19th century buildings in a square surrounding a classic courthouse.

Randomly, Will calls with good news, and we hear that Holly Springs is a great music town. It is the home of R.L. Burnside.
As we crossed this old fashioned bridge- we are always looking at the water level in these rivers these days- I said" Do you think this could be the Tallahatchie Bridge"? We looked back to see the sign for the oncoming lane of traffic...and it was! We are having lots of synchronicity on this trip.

From what we hear the flooding may be bad in Memphis. Here we see downed trees everywhere, from the series of tornadoes in April. If you can get it to the street, the county or the city will pick it up to mulch. Big mess.

There's a time change between Tennessee and Mississippi. In our confusion we left Louisville earlier than we needed to, and so we had time to visit Rowan Oak, the Oxford Mississippi home of William Faulkner.

In this very ordinary room the man wrote many of those important books.

More from Louisville

2011-05-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

Carmichael's Bookstore could be the model for an independent bookstore. It's tiny, focused on community activities, unabashedly Progressive, and warm and welcoming. Did I already say tiny?

Will introduced John. He talked about learning from the making of MATEWAN that the way the work is made is as important as what is made: not by any means necessary. He says he carries that approach in his own work, which made John and me feel good.
I think there may have been 120 people sitting and standing in this tiny room. They heard "In the Temple" which is the initiation of Diosdado into the Katipunan.

And then they bought a lot of books. People brought their old Sayles' collections to be signed and several of these smart booksellers have copies of the "mother books" to sell.

Here are many of the smart booksellers. Carol above in the pink owns Carmichael's. I wish I could remember the name of the woman in the lower photo. She is the energetic saleswoman representing McSweeney's for Publishers West, which sells to the stores. We should all like our jobs as much as she likes hers.
When we planned this trip we vowed not to have dinner after the readings. Just go to bed and get up again. But we're with Will and he says the one magic word "Barbecue?" and here we are

We take it back to Will's house where he mixes a delicious Woodford's with bitters. Bourbon and BBQ. What could be a better way to end a night in Louisville?

A Really Special Day

2011-05-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, every day is special. But today we spent with Will Oldham. We haven't hung out with Will for so long I can't remember. He played Danny, the boy preacher in MATEWAN. We have followed his career as an actor and even more as a- what- Alt Musician? He was a boy of 15 and now he is a lovely man.

We stayed with Will in a house with high ceilings that keep it cool. He took us around his city, where he grew up, but first we had lunch. Sorry it's not much of a picture. I especially wanted to show Michael Preston, whom you know from our Book Tour stop in Hartford. He was Will's tutor and companion on MATEWAN.

We haven't been in Louisville since EIGHT MEN OUT when we shot at Churchill Downs. Will took us to Cave Hill Cemetery.

Colonel Sanders

A magician.

Too many Confederate dead.

I keep looking for signs of diaster from the flooding. Here the Ohio has receded from the park along the bank. Louisville was lucky.

We go back to Will's to perk up for the reading tonight. Lovely roses, at his house and here at his neighbor's. Did you ever see a house with a clock in the front yard?

Back in our office, Keetin was going through Matewan materials in anticipation of its release by MGM and I thought you might want to take these on your trip down Memory Lane:

Nashville

2011-05-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

We arrive at our Hampton Inn, West Inn, in the middle of a hot Sunday afternoon. Mother's Day. Our room is dark and cool with air conditioning, and we are hot and tired. We have passed the hours listening to Sarah Vowell read UNFAMILIAR FISHES. We are her perfect audience.
Still, even in a clean airconditioned rental car travelling makes you hot and sweaty. Showers, and a couple rounds of Scrabble and we are ready to explore- a little.
Here's what we saw just around the corner at Vanderbilt University.

All these are from different Commencement stages. I come from little Williams College, where I grew up and where John and I matriculated. We only have one stage! Big and beautiful campus with venerable trees, absolutely empty of people, hours after the ceremonies have ended.
Next stop, Centennial Park which John remembers from hitchhiking through Nashville in the late '60'. I know the Parthenon from guidebooks and "Nashville' the Altman movie.

The Parthenon does not disappoint.
I had always thought of Nashville as a music town, but here in Centennial Park we are far from the Grand Ol' Opry.

A Day of Rest

2011-05-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

What a treat to wake up with nowhere to go on time. Sunny too. Last night was our first night in a hotel,the first night of so many I have booked in advance for this long trip.

No, it wasn't The MOuntaineer, though there was a time I would have gone for signage over the promise of comfort. I used Tripadvisor to plan this tour, and also the advice of a friend (who was it?) who said, go with the best beds. Within our budget, that's what I did. Thus, the Country Inn & Suites,

Boring corporate signage (I hate these signs that are just logos on boxes of lights) but the bed and pillows were great and the breakfast was tasty egg burritos with salsa (hurray for Mexico, everywhere we go) and it went well with my leftover greens. Plus, when I checked in and answered that we were on tour with a book, the guy at Recception said, "I love Malaprops. I go there whenever I can. I saw that big book". Can you get a better welcome than that?
I love being back in this part of the world. My very first road trip was with my friend Ita in 1972 to a fiddlers convention somewhere in the mountains here. I have a picture of me in an African print smock with a single braid, in front of a sign that said

Maggie Valley. Can you read it? On this trip too many pictures will be taken from a moving car. Still, we're in the Smokies and the music is suddenly good: Richard Thompson, Alison Kraus, Joan Osborne. That's the good stuff.
And Road Food. Big nature (last night we heard owls from our room at the Country I&S) and BBQ.

Once again, the signage isn't much, but Buddy's was voted Best BBQ in Roane County. Gets my vote.

Road Trip :8 hours DC to Asheville

2011-05-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

We got kind of a slow start, considering we had a long drive ahead. We were touched that Caleb got up to say goodbye.

We drove around the corner and then spend five minutes figuring out how to release the hand brake. Then we turned around when we couldn't get the GPS to work. I'm not sure why I thought it was Caleb's job to figure it out, but he did. Or maybe that cheerful lady voice just wanted to see a great kid again. Finally we got on the road, long road through Virginia and into North Carolina. We passed a place where on either side of the highway there was devastation from one of those terrible tornadoes.
We just barely made it to the Malaprops reading on time since all of Downtown Asheville had parked to go to the symphony. A cultured place.
And a wonderful bookstore. Here is Alsace Walentin who has been my liason as I planned the trip.

I think she is ordering our delicious take-out dinner from Early Girl. Trout, greens, black-eyed peas and curried carrot and raisin salad. Can't wait till the reading is over.
Not really.

Jan stands in front of a good crowd, introducing John. I enjoy watching this group, obviously Sayles fans, as John reads "Shave and a Haircut" again, since it is set in (Wilmington) North Carolina, and with it the short gun chapter.
And then the friends show up.

Here's Tom Plott, John's friend since they met in their Williams College freshman dorm in 1968. Sweet.
And here is Jane from Lady Jane's, our "local" in Hoboken before she left. I never knew where Jane went till today:Wilmington, and she's in Asheville for her daughter's graduation from UNC. With her are Steve and Gina who were so nice they get a picture too.

I have a new poster for the car. Guess which one.