What began as a hellish trip from my idyllic island world to BrockVegas, NY, via beautiful downtown Newark Liberty International Airport, eventually turned into something wonderful. Seventeen hours later - many of them spent in an overcrowded Newark terminal packed full of tired, irritated travelers experiencing the same delays and cancellations that held me hostage - I finally touched down in Rochester. By the way, no one should have to endure more than thirty minutes in Newark. In spite of the late hour of my arrival, my best friend was waiting for me as promised and off we went to enjoy a glass of wine and laugh like a couple of crazy old ladies.
On Saturday - book signing day - the wind had an icy bite that made me long for my pool-side lounge chair in the sun. What the hell?! It was mid-April, right? Dressed in full habit, carrying bags of cheese and crackers, bottles of wine and homemade brownies, my Mom and I pressed against the wind trying to reach the front doors of the Liftbridge Bookstore. I was having a bitch of a time with my veil in that wind. How the hell nuns manage in Chicago is a mystery to me.
Mom introduced me as the Mother Superior and herself as the Superior Mother. She thinks she's pretty funny and laughs at her own jokes.
The guys at the store couldn't have been more welcoming. They'd set up a table near the entrance with a sign about a local author/booksigning/controversial expose...it was pretty damn exciting, let me assure you. Well, I was totally unprepared for what followed. I was thrilled to see people I went to High School with - some of whom I'd not seen since graduation 27 years ago - a couple of beloved cousins, my oldest brother and his very generous girlfriend, a couple of my Mom's friends, parents of former Nativity classmates, friends of the family, parents of High School classmates, people with whom I'd only communicated via Facebook and never met in person, an old crush turned good friend, my best friend of 42 years (who also wore a habit) and two treasured friends who are more like family.
The wine flowed freely, we laughed and talked WAY too loudly while munching on brie, port wine and cheddar cheeses. I frequently heard myself say something like this:
"No shit?" (in response to a great story) "Fuck, I just swore. Shit. Oops."
Habits are hard to break. No pun intended.
I could go on for hours about all of the old stories we dragged out, the teasing that went on, the yearbooks that were passed around and the red wine that was almost spilled on a table of best sellers. There was discussion about various characters in the book....who they "really" were and which ones were fictional. I didn't offer much information - I prefer to let the reader make their own judgments - but everyone was a good sport, even those who thought they may have played an embarrassing part in the story. I wish I had pictures of the unsuspecting customers who stopped in to casually browse the shelves but instead found a group of loud people - including two nuns - drinking wine and laughing like loons. They were priceless.
I was particularly touched by the parent of a HS classmate who told me she'd read the book and was "proud" of me for putting it out there. She said she could relate to a lot of it and something about the way she held my gaze warmed my heart. She bought a copy for each of her children. I happily signed them all, grateful to have had the opportunity to talk with her. So happy, in fact, I followed her to the door and hugged her. We'd never met but I felt like I knew her. I wish her endless peace and much laughter.
It was the most successful book signing to date - not because of the sales - but because of the reunion-like atmosphere of the whole thing. I'm eternally grateful to everyone who stopped by to offer their support. Let's do it again - in warmer weather - and everyone should wear a habit and bring a bottle of wine!!!
As usual, I burned the candle at both ends during my short visit. I was there for about 36 hours and laughed for about 30 of them. I stayed up into the early hours of the morning laughing with Leslie and Karen and got up after about five hours of sleep to pack in as much fun as possible before heading back to the airport. I'll sleep when I'm dead.
My only regret is that the Book Banning Bimbo and her sidekick didn't make an appearance. I wanted to give them an autographed copy of their favorite book.
I'll post pix as soon as I can get my hands on them!
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