SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND THERE
I figure if the day job that supports the writing habit doesn’t pan out it might be possible to get a job at the circus, or perhaps performing at kids parties. After all I have extensive experience as a juggler and pinata, and might even be able to wear the back half of the horse costume as I have experience in that area as well.
If nothing else, the life lived as a writer by night and truck leasing agent by day is an interesting one that gets more interesting with every passing day. In the past two weeks the mass exodus from California and Las Vegas has kept me hoping as a shortage of trucks in those markets has folks driving to Kingman to obtain one. Meanwhile, the assistant who covers for me on my days off and during vacations has become quite ill which leaves me less than six weeks to possibly find a replacement, and train them, as I have to be in Amarillo for the International Route 66 Festival on June 9th for the debut of my new book, Ghost Towns of Route 66http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0760338434&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr.
On the writing front, the publicist I have been working with at the publisher for the past several years is having to take an early retirement effective at the end of this month. It feels as though I am loosing a dear friend as she has always been there to listen, to answer some pretty odd questions, to lend support, as well as serve as my right hand in regards to the promotion of books written and me as a writer.
So, the writing hobby that I had hoped would become a full time job has become a full time job. My prayers have been answered. Perhaps I should have added a request that the full time job as a writer would be a paying one.
I enjoy adventures and this endeavor to chase the elusive life of the full time writer while maintaining a job that supports the hunt is truly a grand adventure. A mere 24 hours that are represented on the calendar as a square labeled Monday exemplify just what an adventure my life has become.
Monday morning, a scheduled day off, began with a 7:00 AM blood tests to evaluate the status of a condition discovered about six weeks ago. This was followed by a visit to the dentist to have another mold made to cap a broken tooth as the first mold did not work.
So, there I am in the dentist chair, waiting for my gum to numb, when my cell rings. It would seem there was a small crisis at the office pertaining to a truck return which I valiantly attempt to resolve by phone while sounding more and more like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.
This is followed by a small sewer repair at my mothers old house and the mailing of a couple of packages. Then its home for several hours of digging through newspaper archives as I gather material for the Route 66 encyclopedia. Did you know the term “Main Street of America” to describe Route 66 dates to an initial meeting of the US 66 Highway Association in February of 1927?
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=158388100X&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrWith a goal of adding 2,500 words to the existing word count of 85,000, I staple my backside to the desk chair, slip in a CD containing the greatest hits of Marty Robbins, take a small break late in the afternoon to visit with Chris Durkin and discuss the new season of Chillin on Beale Street, and then its back to documenting the fascinating and colorful history of Route 66. At about 6:30 my dearest friend slides a wonderful plate of food under my nose, a subtle hint that perhaps its time for a break.
Expecting a call from my dad around 7:30, I set up camp at the kitchen computer next to the phone after dinner. Deeply engrossed with stories about the troubles rocking Texola (1908) I answer the phone on the first ring like an automated device.
The auto pilot mode vaporizes when I hear Jay Leno’s voice. Things like this never cease to amaze me.
In my minds eye I am just some obscure hack eking out a living in the http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0760319650&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrwilds of Arizona and then Jay Leno calls, or someone from Germany stops in the office to have me sign a t-shirt, or someone in Prescott recognizes me. To be honest it almost makes me feel like I am living two separate lives and that is a damned odd sensation, especially when the two worlds collide somewhere between here and there.
Well, it looks like I am blessed with another opportunity to visit the magical mechanical lair of Jay Leno but this time it will be to share, or introduce, the wonders and charms of Route 66. Now, I have another adventure within an adventure to work into the schedule.
The videos for the previous interviews recorded for Jay Leno’s website, Jay Leno’s Garage, one for my book on the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company and one for The Big Book of a Car Culture, a joint project with Jon Robinson, are found in the right hand column of this blog.
The day drew to close with an excellent movie shared with my dearest http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000056HEH&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrfriend, Lillies of the Field with Sidney Poiter, and as I was in need of some inspiration, a chapter in the recent book by Dan Rice, End of the Trailhttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0982141912&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr.
I am truly a blessed man. Boredom is never found at my door, I have a dear friend to share the adventure of life with, and on more than one occasion each week, from dawn to dusk, I am doing the things I enjoy most.