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| The man himself |
I'm happy to report that, ***SPOILER ALERT!*** despite my protagonist's pro-life leanings, I was still welcomed warmly by these ladies "of a certain age." If you're not sure what age that is, let me set a scene:
Woman #1: How do you like the tea, Woman #2?
Woman #2: Actually, I don't like it. There's something in it that's bitter and gives it a flavor I don't like.
Woman #1: (smiling at me) You can see, at our age we just tell it like it is. (To Woman #2) That must be the gunpowder.
Later on, when we discussed whom they would cast in the leading characters' roles, we had a book club first. Mr. Tab Hunter was nominated to play Daniel. If you are ignorant of this actor's accomplishments as I was, I've learned his biggest claim to fame was the role of Joe Hardy in the film version of Damn Yankees. (FYI, 5th Avenue Theatre is putting the play on next season, because, what Lola wants...) The movie came out in 1958, and if Tab's handsomeness was sticking in this woman's mind five decades later, I can only say he must have been hot stuff.
The same woman told me quite openly (see sample scene above) that she found the religion in the book "very off-putting," but that--thank the dear Lord--the humor compensated for it. This is a teeny bit like being told you're physically repulsive but have a great personality, but that certainly beats being physically repulsive and unpleasant to boot.
And don't tell me you don't learn anything when you invite me to your book club--we enjoyed a rousing discussion on the history of swearing and why "kids nowadays" are not a bit into the blasphemy-type swearing and more into f-bombs. Good stuff.
To round everything off, the kind hostess sent me home with fresh eggs from her chickens, including a bitty one from her bantam hen! Worth writing a book for any day.
Next up--another Mia and the Magic Cupcakes storytime special at University Book Store Mill Creek this Thursday (2/17) at 11:00 a.m. Hope to see some of you there, faithful readers!
Wishing I could be at your UBooks launch party, but I will be screaming my way through Space Mountain just then. Keep me posted, though, I do want to get to one of these things!
ReplyDeleteAs for Tab Hunter, my recollection of his hotness is from Damn Yankees as well, which I watched over and over in preparing for an audition. He was the blond boy bombshell of his day, for sure, though he was solidly eclipsed by Dick Van Dyke, in my mother's mind. Mom says, las Jessica said about Roger, " He makes me laugh." Can't picture Dick as Daniel, though.