Auntie M has long hated math in any form. Not because I failed at it, although I did come close with trigonometry) but because it frustrates me in its solidness. I like fluidity better, words that flow and caress, ideas that are acted out in front of me, books that take me on travels and adventures.
That’s why I enjoyed this trip to NY so much on so many levels.
In this view, the Chrysler Building, that famous example of Art Deco architecture, is on the left near the MetLife Building; the Empire State Bldg (and site of two of my favorite movies, “Love Affair” and “Sleepless in Seattle”) on the right. There’s something about the cosmopolitan excitement of the city that never fails to energize me.
This trip held several surprises, too. Three of us from Screw Iowa were going up to meet with The Agent Who Knows All about the status of the book proposal he’d sent out for the book all five of us wrote as a collaboration on our writing workshop method. Lauren was practically sitting shiva on the Jersey turnpike, convinced we were turned down by all four. Nina was saying novena’s in the back seat. Lo and behold, the news was that ALL FOUR publishers want to read our full manuscript! Great news for any writer to hear. We’re fixing a few typo’s, pinching and tweaking, and it will be on its way shortly. Godspeed and then some.
We followed that with our Screw Iowa presentation at The Writers Room, a mecca for writers who need quiet space to work away from their often small and/or noisy homes. After our hour talk and question period, the group stayed, heavily into a publishing discussion. . .and stayed. . .and stayed–and hour and 45 minutes after our time ran out. Another great experience, although dinner was awfully late that evening.
Speaking of dinner, I don’t know how people survive with Big Apple prices all the time. At 9PM at night we still had to wait 15 minutes for a table at a restaurant. Little signs of a recession up there. But I digress.
That same weekend our Nina found out her second book of poetry will be published in 2010 by Kitsune Press. Called “Coffeehouse Meditations,” half of the poems were written at and are observations from Starbucks! We finally peeled her off the ceiling with delight to see an Off-Broadway play on its closing night, “Blue By Morning” which we adored.
We also saw “The 39 Steps” and it lived up to its promise. How can you miss when satirizing the famous Hitchcock spy movie, with 148 parts played by two men? The staging was a choreography of sorts, with an actor going out one door dressed as a detective and coming right back in the next as a woman. Both of these men mastered a different accent, stance, facial expression, etc. for each character. It was truly amazing. Funny and masterful, with references to Hitch’s other movies and many laughs. There is something about live theatre that surpasses performing in any other modality, the sweat flying off the actors in the hot lights, the pulse of the laughter of the audience, the music, the lights, the heart of it all.
This is the cast I saw, with Sam Robards playing the harassed gentleman who gets caught up in a spy caper. The two men on the right exchange the various parts; note the garters and socks on the man in the middle that stay put during any and all of his varied roles.
It was a great few days away, although Radar, Murray, and of course, Doc, were all mighty happy to see me.
There’s something great about going away and having new experiences, but it’s always good to be home again.
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Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff 