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The
Maplewoods Mirror #25 - April 2008
Welcome to my monthly newsletter on life and
writing. If you want to see my website for past issues and other
news, please visit www.chrismeeks.com.
Because I missed sending one of these in March,
I’ve created a second one this month. I like the idea of twelve a
year.
IN THIS ISSUE
Festival of Books in Los
Angeles April 26-27
Reviewer Jumped the Gun
Aging Gracefully In Savannah
The Festival of Books on UCLA's
campus
FESTIVAL OF BOOKS! JOIN ME
SUNDAY, NOON TO 2 P.M.
I’ll be at the Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books at UCLA on Sunday, April 27, signing books from
noon to 2 p.m. at the USC Bookstore tent, Booth 402, in Dickson
Plaza. That’s the main area, not far from a Food Court. There's
no admission, and if you’ve never been to this event, it’s fun. Eager
readers and happy authors join outdoors on a spring day.
You’ll find great things to read, reminded how
reading can be like a mud puddle to a kid. There are famous authors
(and less famous ones) to see on a panel or a book signing. Such
authors as Michael Connelly, Walter Moseley, Gore Vidal, Julie Andrews,
Jane Smiley and many others will be there.
Stop by to see me if you’re around. You
don’t have to buy anything. I’d love to say hi and get caught up—noon
to two p.m. If you need directions to UCLA or more information on the
festival click
here.
Writers and festival-goers Gina
Nahai and Laraine Crampton
REVIEWER JUMPED THE GUN—BUT WHAT THE
HECK
You’ve witnessed the genesis of my new
collection of short stories, Months and Seasons, over the past
several months, from my including some of the first versions of stories
that have ended up in the collection, to the creation of its cover.
I’m now in the process of getting the book reviewed to create a buzz and
coincide with the book’s publication date of June 13th.
That night, as I’ve mentioned, four actors will each read/perform a story
at the Beverly Hills Library starting at 8 p.m.—and you’re invited for that
and the publication party afterwards with food and drink.
One reviewer, Marc Schuster, at his website Small
Press Reviews, is the first to review the book. While he’s a
little early—the book still isn’t available, but it should be next month
—he has great things to say about it. Up front he says, “I couldn’t
take my eyes off the cover of Months and Seasons by Christopher
Meeks. And although there were a good two or three books ahead of this one
in the queue (and despite all of the old bromides about the dangers of
judging a book by its cover), I couldn’t resist.” He goes on to give
specifics on why he couldn’t put it down.
To read the whole review, click
here.
Thank you to all those who’ve helped me, including:
Nomi, who edited the book; Daniel, who created the cover; and everyone who
gave their thoughts on the cover before I selected one. Thank you to
Ann, who kicked me in the butt to say two of the stories needed to be
better and I made them better; to Gina and Sandra who read the earliest
copies and offered me great quotes; to Carol, who gave the book one last
and diligent final proofreading; to CC, who you’ll soon see online reading
one of the stories; to Skye, who is editing that performance now; to Kate
and Carol Fass, who are publicizing the book; and to Sally, who is creating
the public reading and publication party at the Beverly Hills Public
Library in June.
AGING GRACEFULLY IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
One of the reasons I missed writing a Maplewoods
Mirror in March was that Ann, Ellen, and I flew off to Savannah,
Georgia, to visit Ann’s father, David. Ann’s brother Charles and his
son, Benjamin, joined us.
David and grandaughter Ellen in
Lafayette Park
David, after serving in the Marines in the
fifties where he was stationed in Japan, used the G.I. Bill to earn
bachelor and masters degrees. He then took President Kennedy’s
challenge and joined the first wave of the Peace Corps in the early
sixties. There he met another volunteer, Marie, and they fell in
love.
David and Marie had the proud distinction of
being the first couple to marry in the Peace Corps and the first to have a
child there. My wife, Ann, was born in Nigeria and lived in a small
village where her parents worked. Ann’s first months were spent mostly
under mosquito netting. To celebrate those days, Ann and I used a
Nigerian music and dance troupe to lead our wedding party into church when
we married, five years ago come June.
Two years ago, David was living in Long Beach,
where he’d spent many good years. He got to thinking that his small
house had gained immensely in value. Why not cash it in and move
someplace where he’s never lived?
At first he’d considered the mountains in
Colorado and New Mexico, but in surfing the Internet, he’d come upon
beautiful homes for sale in Savannah, Georgia—at prices far lower than in
Long Beach, California. He flew to Savannah one weekend to look the
city over, and he was seduced with the historical district and all the
wooden Victorian homes.
He’d learned to carve wood while in Africa, and
in his retirement, he has become a popular artist of erotic art.
(What a great guy to have as a father-in-law.) Thus, as a connoisseur of
wood, he bought a five-bedroom Victorian from the Internet.
David's carving: Trapese Artist
While purchasing a home before seeing it in
person sounds like something one should never do, he did it anyway.
His home is gorgeous and not far from the historical district. He’s
made new friends and doesn’t regret moving. His neighbors all have
front porches and have come to know him as he walks his three dogs.
It’s the walking part that inspired me to tell
this story. David has always been a walker, so he’s in good shape as
he’s moved gracefully into his seventies. About three years ago, he’d
noticed he was getting out of breath rather quickly when he walked.
He sought the advice of his doctor, who, after a few tests, rushed him into
open-heart surgery that day where he had a double bypass for blocked
arteries.
Last week I happened to see the new Body
Worlds exhibit at the California Science Center across from USC.
(You can read about the exhibit by clicking
here.)
An exhibit in "Body
Worlds"
Real human bodies, preserved thanks to
plastinazation, show just how the body works. The new exhibit
especially focuses on the heart. I saw first hand how small the
arteries are that are replaced in bypass surgery—the thickness of a pencil
lead (one of the blue lines in the photograph).
I’m in awe that we can be repaired like
that. My mother’s surgery shaved one of her heart walls down so that
it’s back to normal. We’re living in science fiction.
The question remains: if we’re lucky enough to
reach our senior years, how can we remain “normal”? David walks a lot
and does not overeat. When we needed dinner one night, I walked a
mile with him to the store. The South doesn’t have the constant roar
of fast fast fast—drive so you can be fast. Rather, admire the
hanging Spanish moss and the grandeur of homes built over a hundred years
ago.
David's House
Also David purposely gave himself a challenge
of living in a new place. If in your younger years you were willing
to move to a small village in Africa, then Savannah isn’t so hard.
We found it beautiful. Our trip also gave
me one approach for aging gracefully. Move out of the hubbub to a
place with style.
A couple in Lafayette Park
See you next time,
--Chris
The secret of staying young is to live
honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.
- - - - Lucille Ball
If I were younger, I'd know more.
- - - - James Barrie
To me, old age is always fifteen years older
than I am.
- - - - Bernard M. Baruch
For
reviews or more information on either of my two books below, click on the
cover.
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