Summer is Coming...right?

This week I headed up to Louisville for my second ever Summer Reading Conference. Somehow I find it hard to think about summer when the temperature is somewhere between too freaking cold and way too freaking cold. But apparently summer is coming in a matter of months and I therefore need to start planning us a program.

So, what did I learn while in Louisville? Here's some highlights:

• I want to start talking exclusively through puppets.


• There is a room (I think they call it the English Room) in the Speed Art Museum that is taken out of a 17th century house and it is ah-mazing. Seriously, I could have sworn that there was a dragon sitting just outside of the window. If you're ever in Louisville, you should totally check it out.


• Sometimes when you check into a hotel you should be very careful about opening the door to your room. Perhaps you should even knock first. Because sometimes there is someone already in the room that the nice little boy at the front desk sent you to. (Also, a different thing learned, but still on the same subject - should you find yourself unlocking a hotel room to find another person inside the correct response is to turn around and run away without saying one single word to the occupant. Seriously.)


• If there is a woman playing a piano in the middle of the department store than most likely you cannot afford anything in there, even if it's on clearance.


• They just make hot browns better in Louisville.


• All wine salesmen are named Michael. (Or, at least, all the ones eating breakfast in my hotel were. "So, Mike, how are sales up in the northeast?" "Well, Mike, things have been kinda slow lately." "Where is Michael J? Has he not woke up yet?"...Not that I eavesdrop on conversations or anything.)


• Collaborative art is fun. You'll see when I force you all to do an exquisite corpse at our next YAAP meeting.


• PacMan belt buckles exist. And sometimes people actually wear them.


• I actually like oatmeal-raisin cookies.

Could Somebody Please Turn On A Light?

Subtitled: My First Major Disaster.

I have no idea who reads this blog. (According to the ticker thingy at the bottom it does get read, so that makes me happy.) If you read this and you live in Marshall County (or near it) you are painfully aware of our current state of being. If you are reading this from afar, perhaps you've seen our situation on CNN, Fox, or whatever place it is that you get your news.

The truth is this: We are survivors of a disaster.

The thing about crippling ice storms is that they are slow, silent disasters. Earthquakes, tornadoes, volcano eruptions, and hurricanes are all very tangible and, for the most part, fast. You know it's coming (hopefully), you know when it hits, and you know when it's over.

With an ice storm? Not so much. You wake up to no power. Then the phones go. And then you realize that you can't get out of your driveway, let alone the ice-covered, tree-littered street. You are cut off from the world by a villain that came stealthily in the night.

The first wave of ice hit Marshall County over a week ago. Currently, most businesses are back up and running (including the Marshall County Public Libraries), but school is still out. Many of us are still without electricity and may be for a very long time.

It's been scary, painful, and surreal.

And it's excellent fodder for all of my aspiring writers.

I encourage all of my Orbis de Scriptor kids (and any of you that like to write but have yet to join up) to keep a journal of everything that you have experienced over the past week. For one thing, it is good practice. For two thing, it will help you deal. For three thing, one day this will all be a distant memory and you will appreciate having a written reminder of what happened. And, finally, for four thing, it may be the spark that starts the fire that becomes your best-selling novel.

To my YAAPers - I hope that you are all safe and warm. I'm going to worry about each and every one of you until I see or hear from you again.

(So, how do you like the "thing one", "thing two", etc? Cutsie or too much?)