As is so often the case, there’s a song running through my head today.<\/p>\n
Here I sit in the railway station,<\/em><\/p>\n Got a ticket to my destination.<\/em><\/p>\n I’m on a tour of one-night stands<\/em><\/p>\n My suitcase and guitar in hand<\/em><\/p>\n And every stop is neatly planned<\/em><\/p>\n For a poet and a one-man band.<\/em><\/p>\n That’s my life right now, only it’s airports and rental cars not a railway station. \u00a0And there’s no guitar stowed away among the luggage, but there are plenty of pieces of electronic equipment–laptop, iPad, iPhone, Garmin. \u00a0The poet part is right because After the Fire is out there selling like crazy, but it’s not a one-man band, either. \u00a0There’s Bonnie Abney, the character Second Watch. \u00a0(More on her later.) \u00a0There’s may daughter-in-law, Kathy, who wears one hat as my IT Gal and her current one, driving the Miss Daisies and making sure no purses or other vital pieces of equipment are left behind. \u00a0And then there yours truly.<\/p>\n So let’s just say it’s a three-woman band.<\/p>\n But the one-night stand part is absolutely on the money. \u00a0Monday we flew into Albuquerque, checked into the hotel, and then did an evening event. \u00a0Tuesday we flew to Dallas. \u00a0Wednesday we drove to Austin. \u00a0Yesterday we drove to San Antonio. \u00a0Tomorrow is Houston. \u00a0The day after that is Oklahoma City, and that night after the OKC event, we fly to Nashville. \u00a0That’s a miracle almost because we get to stay in the same hotel for TWO NIGHTS!!! \u00a0That’s almost like going on vacation, and we may even have enough time to send some clothing–underwear most likely–to the hotel laundry.<\/p>\n This is my first experience of being on tour WITH a character. \u00a0Most of the time, I’m the one in charge and the one telling characters what to do and say. \u00a0It turns out that Bonnie is a character of a totally different sort. \u00a0She talks back. \u00a0She has her own opinions. \u00a0And we’re having fun out here on the road, but we’re also working. \u00a0Talking about the journey that brought us to the writing of Second Watch makes for an emotionally draining experience for both the audience and for us. \u00a0We leave the venues, return to our hotels, and fall into bed. \u00a0I’ve noticed that in books characters can work almost ’round the clock and not get tired. \u00a0Bonnie’s and my case, both character and author tend to run out of steam later on in the day, and that’s why Kathy’s presence is so vital to our current enterprise.<\/p>\n Kathy is young. \u00a0(Forty something is young, right?) \u00a0She is energetic. \u00a0She is organized. \u00a0And she’s bossy when the occasion calls for a certain level of bossiness. \u00a0It’s 5:01 pm right now–Central time in San Antonio–and Kathy has decreed wheels up at 6:15 in order for us to make it to the signing event on time. \u00a0That means I’m keeping an eye on the clock. \u00a0Several nights ago I changed the time on my computer to the right time zone. \u00a0The night before that I wasn’t so smart, so I was ten minutes late for wheels up. \u00a0(Did I mention Kathy is also a tough task-master?) \u00a0She’s also good at wrangling crowds and keeping folks moving. \u00a0There was one stop along the way earlier in the tour, before Kathy joined caught up with Bonnie and me, when we could really have used her help in ushering an over-staying guest away from the table. \u00a0By the way, Kathy also has a keen sense of humor.<\/p>\n I know when we’re out on the road that a few clueless people will ask Bill, “What’s it like to be married to a famous person?” \u00a0For Pete’s sake, what’s it like to be married? \u00a0That’s the real question. \u00a0Being married means two people are pulling together in the same direction through thick and thin, and famous or not famous has NOTHING to do with it. \u00a0I was shocked when I recently discovered that my granddaughters in Spokane have been subjected to a similar kind of nonsense. \u00a0“What’s it like to have a grandmother who’s famous?” \u00a0Well, gee whiz! \u00a0I don’t know. \u00a0She buys us pizza on occasion and at Thanksgiving she makes a mean turkey? \u00a0Again, I’m a GRANDMOTHER. \u00a0If you ask, I will show you the pictures to prove it, and I will also bore you silly with my grandchildren’s wonderful exploits. \u00a0Again, famous or not has nothing to do with it.<\/p>\n Kathy, however, has now been asked a similar question. \u00a0“What’s it like to have a mother-in-law who is famous?” \u00a0Kathy, who was raised in Palouse (yes, it’s a TOWN, as well as an AREA) \u00a0and who does not suffer fools lightly, immediately took charge of that question. \u00a0“It depends,” she said with a completely straight face, “on whether she’s riding her broom or her Hoover Vacuum Cleaner that day!”<\/p>\n Today, I think I’ll leave both of those at home. \u00a0I’ll just settle back in our rented Yukon and let Kathy do the driving.<\/p>\n Again, and for the record, has anybody seen my purse?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As is so often the case, there’s a song running through my head today. Here I sit in the railway station, Got a ticket to my destination. I’m on a tour of one-night stands My suitcase and guitar in hand And every stop is neatly planned For a poet and a one-man band. 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