I'm reading my stuff ...

Catherine Rankovic, my friend and mentor, has posted a statement and question about going to "readings."

I agree with what she has to say. I see from personal experience the observations she makes about who comes to a "reading" and why. However, besides being at a reading to network and be seen, I also go because I like the author/poet(s) at the "reading." I learn from listening to others read their work.

But Catherine's main points are valid about who comes, who reads, and why ... and the difference between authors/poets who come and "fans." I also know that when I invite people (friends, colleagues, fellow non-profit board members) to come to hear authors/poets read, they smile, but their eyes turn glassy and they don't show up.

For me, and I suspect others, "readings" provide the best venue for selling our books. But that means more "fans" need to come and not just other writers. How do we do this? How can we get interest in the art we create in words?

Suggestions are appreciated.

A Word About Customer Service - Bread and Wine

Over the weekend, four of us went to dinner at a local restaurant that is pan-Latin. It’s one we like and have eaten at frequently. The service was as slow as sap in January in Maine. But that’s not what this is all about. We ordered a bottle of a particular malbec, one that we’ve ordered many times here. After quite a delay (the poor service thing), the waiter told us the wine was no longer available. He tried to steer us to a wine that was $51 a bottle as compared to the $39 for the wine we wanted. We said we’d rather try other wines in the same price range as our original choice. The waiter said he’d bring us a taste of another malbec.

Time passed. The waiter returned with a malbec which none of us liked. He went away again. Time passed. He brought another malbec that none of us liked. And we’re not that picky about wines usually. All through this, he was trying to get us to buy the $51 bottle of malbec.

After all this, one of our party said to the waiter that we thought since the wine we wanted was not available and that none of the others in the same price range were acceptable to us, they should sell us the $51 bottle of wine at $39. Let me add at this point that on a particular night of the week, every week of the year, you can come in and buy any wine on the list at half price. We weren’t asking for this, but it’s part of the background on the transactions.

The waiter told us he couldn’t make such a decision and would get the manager. So the manager comes, we tell him the same thing we told the waiter. The bottom line in his response was that he wouldn’t sell us the $51 wine for $39, but had other wines he would sell us that were not on the wine list at about the same price or lower than the original wine. He brought one over. We tried it. By this time, our food was arriving and we were not happy to be negotiating on the wine and settled for what he brought. We didn’t finish the bottle, which is very rare for the four of us altogether.

Customer service opportunity #1 missed: “Oh, sure. No big deal. Glad to sell you the wine at a lower price since you’re loyal customers and we’re out of what you usually order.”

The next day, I wrote the manager an email recounting the entire story. His answer merely said he was sorry the service was so slow and sorry they were out of the wine we had wanted. See the customer service opportunity #2 that was missed?

That night, Marian and I went to a local Indian restaurant. When we ordered our entrees, I asked the waiter if naan came with them. He said, “No, but tell me what you want and I’ll bring it as an appetizer.” We did. He did. It wasn’t on the bill. Big customer service points for this guy. He understands.

Duck, NC - August 1-9, 2010

Sunday it was just four of us. We did our laptop things in the morning. Some people drove up to the house and I went out to see who they were. It was Buzz Cupelli and his family. The Cupellis had just bought this house a week or so ago. They didn’t know our rental was for two weeks and had come to measure rugs, look at furnishings, etc. to see what they needed to buy. Very nice family and I learned quite a bit about the dunes, subdivisions, ownerships, etc. He is coming back on Monday with Charter Communications to change over the modem to him as the new owner.

Marian and I went out to Harris-Teeter to stock up for the next couple of days and to replenish basic supplies. Around 2:00, we all went on a five-mile walk on the beach – southward to the Corps of Engineers’ pier and back. Took two hours and it spit rain from time to time. Mark picked up lots of dead jelly fish for me to photograph. As we walked, we could see houses where the dunes were almost under them. And there were dunes with pretty bad erosion. The dunes in front of our subdivision are steady, have good vegetation, and look unharmed. Had late dinner at the house – nice grilled butterflied leg of lamb.

On Monday, we were all up around 9:00. It was the usual gathering around the laptops and eating breakfast time. Sandy and Sharon are arriving this afternoon, so we will finish making all the beds and putting fresh towels in two of the bedrooms. Lazy day around the beach and the house. We fixed dinner here and sat around our computers afterward.

Tuesday, Mark took a really long walk on the beach starting at dawn. Later, Marian, Sharon, and I went shopping in the AM at Tomee’s Gourmet Market in Duck to get dinner and other stuff. Sandy and Sharon went out to lunch. I had another lamb sandwich – just like I did Monday. Pru and Richard arrived about 3:00. Richard went right into the ocean to swim and boogie board. The other activity of the afternoon was bubbles on the deck. Marian, Mark, Pru, and Richard all joined in. It’s so windy that all you have to do is to hold your wand up and bubbles flow from it. Robin and Mark made guacamole for our afternoon snack.

Nice dinner including wine Pru and Richard brought. Lots of laughter and good company. Too bad Robin and Mark have to leave on Wednesday AM.

Well, Robin and Mark left around 8:00 Wednesday with lots of hugs all around. Now we’re down to six of us. Sandy and Sharon went south to see the Wright Brothers monument and onward to the Hatteras National Seashore and Bodie Island Lighthouse (which is swaddled in scaffolds). Late in the afternoon, Pru and Richard went to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, where there was no wait to climb it. Sandy and Sharon stopped at Harris-Teeter to pick up supplies, including a main ingredient for our evening meal: shrimp.

I made shrimp, andouille sausage, and cheese grits. Sandy did green beans. Yummy. After dinner, it was time for three rousing games of Apples to Apples.

Thursday AM, I took a walk on the beach. It had rained last night, so the sand was easy walking. Around 10:00, I made omelets for everyone. Sandy did a fruit salad. Marian and Sharon did a little beach time, then, at noon, Jill Keller, the massage therapist, came and worked on me, Sharon, Pru, and Marian, in that order. We all sat around reading. The sea calmed to almost “smooth as glass.” A couple of porpoises were spotted and we got good pix.

Before dinner, we took some “family portrait” pix with the setup like Jeff had used. Then off to The Left Bank at the Sanderling Inn. Elegant dinner, terrific food and wine, and the company wasn’t too bad either.

Friday is the last full day we’re all going to be together since the others are all leaving Saturday. Pru and Richard were off very early to go to the Wright Brothers monument. The coffee maker crapped out this AM, so I called Élan and they delivered another one, although half the capacity of what we had. Can’t do without coffee, can we? Richard was in the water, waves, surf almost everyday at least once. Friday night, Pru and Richard made a wonderful meal for us and we played Apples to Apples afterward.

Saturday was about the same pace and activities as all the other days. For lunch, we went into Duck to the Red Sky Café. Sandy and Sharon left from there to go to the airport in Norfolk. Pru and Richard came back to the house, packed up, and left for home. Marian and I started getting things put together, packed, and staged for car loading this evening. We ate dinner at Blue Point, our favorite restaurant in Duck. It has been expanded quite a bit since we were last here eight years ago, but the food was a great as ever. Went outside on their new patio to watch the fading sun over the sound.

Sunday we were up bright and early and left the house before 8:00. We returned the keys to Élan and headed north then west on I-64. Originally, I had planned to take an alternate route to avoid Norfolk and Newport News, but we got turned around and ended up taking the usual route over I-64. Traffic was tolerable except for the places where there were accidents or road work. Lunch was at a Waffle House in Lexington, VA. We slept at a Hampton Inn in Frankfort, KY, about 700 miles from Duck.

Monday we were home in time for lunch at Kaldi’s in the valley. It’s really hot here. You go outside and are dripping wet within 10 minutes. Let’s all go back to the ocean.

Duck, NC - July 23-31, 2010

Marian and I left St. Louis around 7 AM on the 23rd and headed the southern route toward the Outer Banks. We had lunch east of Nashville in Lebanon, TN at an O’Charley’s. After 725 miles, we spend overnight at a Hampton Inn in Statesville, NC, just a bit north of Charlotte, where the Spellers and Hirsch/Parrone gang were staying for a couple of nights with relatives/friends. Had dinner at Outback. Yummy rack of lamb.

Next morning, we headed out about 8:00. At the end of I-40, we got on U.S. 64, which is much improved since the last time we were here. Lunch was in Williamston, NC at the Hitch ‘N Post. Then eastward some more until we crossed over onto Roanoke Island and the town of Manteo. We checked in at the Burris House Inn, where we had Room 1 – Amelia Delnoy. Beautiful suite overlooking the sound. We went into town and really suffered in the over 100-degree heat and not a breath of breeze. We did some casual shopping and headed back to the inn.

The innkeeper recommended Lone Cedar Café in Nags Head for dinner, and it was a good choice with lots of fresh, local seafood, even showing on the menu who caught it. Went outside to see the first really nice moonrise of the trip, with many more to follow.

Our breakfast the next morning was also at a place the innkeeper suggested: Sam & Omie’s. Lots of locals. We ate at the bar and had a good meal. From there, we headed north from Nags Head, through Kitty Hawk, and over the 158 bridge to the mainland to pick up our keys at the rental agency, Élan. We knew the house wouldn’t be ready, but we drove there anyway to see how soon it would be. We were told by a supervisor about an hour.

We drove north from Duck as far as the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and then back into Corolla to a Harris-Teeter grocery store to stock up. The rental agency had given us a bag with four rolls of toilet tissue, two rolls of paper towels, two packets for the dishwasher, and a small packet for the laundry. No soap. Thus, besides all the food staples and perishables we needed, there were basics to buy. By the time we got back, the cleaning service was all done and we moved in.

Our car was a sight. The truck area was jammed up to the level of the cover to screen it from prying eyes. The back seat was also full – floor and seats. So, adding the groceries to all this was a challenge. Taking it all into the house was a chore as well.

Very nice house: 142 Skimmer Way. Four bedrooms (2Q, 1T, 1 w/2 bunk beds), 3.5 baths. The bedrooms are on the second floor, the living area on the third. The deck off the third floor has a wide open view of the Atlantic.

Jeff and Donna got here first followed not too far behind by the Spellers. I fixed dinner that first night, but all pitched in from then on. Mark and Robin arrived on Tuesday, the 27th.

Over the next couple of days, there were walks on the beach, sitting on the deck, doing jigsaw puzzles, playing Apples to Apples, watching Jake on his Wii play golf, baseball, etc. And eating, of course. We ate in almost all meals with only a few exceptions.

There were magnificent sunrises many mornings where various people got up before 6:00 and watched or took pictures. Moonrises were also spectacular given the full moon. Most days it was comfortable and breezy. We had little rain or clouds overall.

On the 28th, we all drove north to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, waited our turn in a long line, and climbed the hundreds of steps up to the top. It was hot below, but nice winds blew at the top. Lots of fun. Lunch was nearby at Fat Crabs Rib Company. Then back to the house.

There, Robin and Mark presented me with a box to open. It contained an ostrich egg weighing about 5 pounds, the equivalent of over two-dozen eggs. Earlier in the week, Mark had given me a hammer imprinted with “Duck NC 2010” and a large galvanized spike. Now I knew what they were for! What a super present and we all couldn’t wait until we would use it.

The next day, a massage therapist, Jill Keller, came and worked on Marian, Tracy, Jeff, and Donna. Otherwise, it was a normal day of sitting around, sunning, reading.

Friday it was ostrich omelet day. I used the supplied tools, punctured the egg, and drained its contents into a bowl. Jeff whipped it up while I made potatoes and onions on an electric grill. Then we all enjoyed the omelets Jeff made to order (contents of choice). The taste was quite delicate with no discernable difference from good chicken eggs. In later meals, we used the rest of the eggs in crab cakes and to do some final omelets.

After breakfast, we all went south to the Wright Brothers National Monument in Kill Devil Hills. We listened to the ranger talk in a room with full-size models of both their glider and first airplane. Then we walked around the park, saw the field where first flight happened, climbed the hill to the monument where they had launched their glider, etc. Nice day in the 70s with a breeze, so it was good to be outside walking around. Very nice family excursion.

Lunch was at Dirty Dick’s Crab House. Andy and the kids went to play miniature golf, we did some food shopping, Donna and Marian went to a knitting store, and all went home. Dinner was at the Ocean Blvd. Bistro in Kitty Hawk. Elegant dinner, although late for the kids.

Saturday was departure day for the Spellers and Donna/Jeff. Sad to see them go. It was such a wonderful week with the whole family here. Saturday night, Robin and Mark took us out for dinner at the Lifesaving Station at the Sanderling Inn. Very nice food and company.

It’s hard to describe our feelings with our children and grandchildren all here, around us, living with us, being with us for a week. Such joy. Such a treat to watch the small things. And the funny things when there were six iPhones and two Droids going at the same time or when eight of us were all on our laptops. There were all the meals, the group work on puzzles where the players changed as the puzzle came together, shared shopping, cooking, cleaning up, and Jake’s poll at dinner each evening of who was going to play Apples to Apples that night. It was all I wanted it to be and more to celebrate my birthday and our life as a family.

Now it’s time to strip the beds, wash all the towels and sheets, remake the beds, vacuum and sweep, and get ready for Week 2 guests.