Author teacher road warriors hang on for the ride

Home!  Next up: Seattle and several interesting events including this one, organized by an energetic new Ethiopia Reads volunteer.

Who: families – kids are welcome! Jane Kurtz, children’s author WACAP staff What: Book sale/signing Opportunity to meet with other parents and learn about the needs of Ethiopian children Why: To raise awareness and funds for programs serving orphaned and vulnerable children in Ethiopia When: Sunday, March 6, 2011, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Where: WACAP Main Office, 315 South 2nd Street, Renton, Wash. 98057 Cost: The event is free; donations are welcomed and encouraged.

So!  I left Kansas with snow on the ground and flew to gorgeous, lush Indonesia for three amazing author visits, flew back to Kansas (okay, Missouri) to find snow STILL on the ground, flew to Wisconsin for another amazing author visit but even more snow, finally got home last night.  I would feel all heroic and road-warrior-ish except that my dad was doing this kind of traveling and speaking into his 80s, including getting to where he was going via reindeer-pulled vehicles in Siberia. 

I guess I’ll just settle for saying it’s great to be home for a few days…and, hey, y’all who admire and support Ethiopia Reads and/or kids and/or books for kids and/or road warriors and their ilk, come see me in Renton on Sunday–or in California next month where another two events are being set up by volunteers (www.ethiopiareads.org).

What got better while I was on this trip?

–My novel.  (I kept going on revision and even got some new ideas…thrilldom!)

–My sprained foot.

(When I limped home from Houston and thought ahead to the Indonesia trip, I thought it was going to be impossible to keep going, but it wasn’t, even though the air travel made my foot swell up and get uncomfortable.)

What got worse while I was on my long trip?

–My attitude toward the Sky Team.  (Korean Airlines was lovely, as cramped and uncomfortable international travel goes, and I do like those powder blue planes and the view out the window during our loooong layover, but I made a mistake that prevented me from getting ANY frequent flyer miles, and I’m cross that no one would work with me–a loyal Delta flyer–to un-do my goof and make it right.)

–My novel.

(Things always get worse before they get better, so some chapters are an utter mess right now.  I kept writing, though, including while I was sitting in this van and slowly, creepingly making my way through sprawling, snorting, swirling Jakarta traffic.)

–My new haircut.

(Hair grows.)

Now I have two days to get caught up on many, many things + lean on a baby cold + put new updating-the-Lanie-story pictures into my Power Point presentations.

I’m buoyed by those making a difference with orangutans (go, go, Pasir Ridge International School) and Ethiopia Reads (go, go, library planters) and monarch butterflies (go, go St. Joe Elementary School).

For that matter, go, go, all of us author-teacher-speaker road warriors who spread the passion for reading and writing and sharing books.