I receive many charity requests in my daily mail, but I got one last week that just about knocked me over:
Aw, God. Just look at that. Right on the outside of the envelope.
The tears started somewhere near my stomach, and worked their way up to my eyes. I wiped them away and reached for my checkbook. “How much will it take?” I choked out, “To love that crooked headed little tiger for the rest of her life?”
A fat, solitary tear plopped onto my check, right next to the memo where I wrote, “Please give her a little extra carcass tonight. From me.”
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Have you seen the ads on TV sponsored by the US Treasury that urge us to save our money, instead of splurging on things we don't need? Right. The ones in which a creepy human / piggy bank is badgering the person about to piss his money away on a widescreen TV or whatever. So....are we supposed to SPEND our stimulus checks? Or save them? You tell us, gubmint!
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Guess who I had dinner with last week? The one and only bestselling author Lesley Kagen! She was incredibly warm, witty, and gracious, inviting me to dine with her and the tight-knit, fun-loving book club that also attended her reading. If you haven't yet read Whistling in the Dark, pick it up. I'm pretty sure you'll love it. (You can also pre-order her new book, Land of a Hundred Wonders, from which Lesley read her opening chapter--I can't wait to read it.)
I don't even know what to caption this picture, because just looking at me with Lesley makes me get all fangirly and verklempt. Starstruck? Me? Don't mind if I do!
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Finally, this blog post will be my last 'til Friday, because this is one of those crazy weeks: I'll be in Chicago on Wednesday evening (July 16, 7 pm) reading from my novel-in-progress as part of local author night at The Book Cellar. (Wine, books, and good friends--what more does a girl need?) Thursday I'll be doing a reading at the Portage County Library in Stevens Point at 6 pm. So if you're in either area on those dates, come on down! (Or up, depending. Maybe sideways.)
I don't get how people think $600 is a lot of money. Or $1200 if you're married. I couldn't believe people were saying that they were going to spend lavishly with that kind of money.
ReplyDeleteNow $2500, yes, that I understand.
what did you say?
ReplyDeletei'm back on the crooked-headed little tiger.
oh, the humanity.
So you're saying the gubmint doesn't have a clear strategy and is sending mixed messages? You crack me up! Where do you come up with all this great fictional material?
ReplyDeleteI hate those pig commercials too. They have me scratching my head.
ReplyDeleteAren't those stimulus checks already spent? Or is it just me?
I SUCK at saving money. I'm very impulsive but the money we got wasn't much and I certainly appreciated being told that I would be responsible to go out and blow it on the next thing my little heart just had to have. It was a very short lived but loved moment.
ReplyDeleteI was at the reading last Thursday--the only non book club member and I had to dash to my kids' games over in Freedom. My point? I realized who you were at the very end and left double star struck that you were BOTH in the same room!!! Holy cow! And I had to leave! But I've got your next Appleton appearance (Aug 28th) on my calendar.
ReplyDeleteYou and Lesley Kagan are both lovely writers and I look forward to your talk.
Ohh Jess - you had me laughing out loud with the poor little crooked headed tiger!!
ReplyDeleteI've got one to share with you- I was behind a medium sized trailer affair the other day. The busines was "Sire Power - Mobile Alpaca Stud Service"
( Not to be confused with Fire Power )
we may be Sideways by the end of the night, cuz "that's how we roll!"
ReplyDeleteHey Jess, thanks for stopping by and saying hello. What a nice surprise to see your comment this morning! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your next novel.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't get past the crooked headed little tiger either.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they clarified 'crooked headed' because I thought at first that the tiger was just crooked. I can't give to anything on the wrong side of the law!
ReplyDeleteI read an interview with you on another blog, and now that I have experienced your bloguousness first hand, I am off to order your book on Amazon.com.
ReplyDeleteI know Lesley. I went to her reading when she came to Madison!! How cool to see her here with you! You're both darling!!
ReplyDelete