Overheard Department

I get my mail at a post office box which was relocated from its long-time location on a slightly inconvenient side-street to one of the local malls. There are many times when I believe I would prefer the inconvenience of the side-street to the extremely inconvenient local mall. There are six parking spots allotted for the post office, clearly marked. As these spots are the closest to the nearest mall entrance most folks un-learn how to read when they are looking for a parking spot in the always crowded mall lot. Most of the times I pop in to pick up my mail from the spot I found three miles away because the lot is empty, there is no one patronizing the post office. 

I of course do not have the you-know-whats to say anything to the people who are strolling out to their post-office-parking-only parked cars, arms laden with bags not marked "U.S. Post Office" as I stumble by exhausted from my walk to pick up my mail.

On this occasion I was spared the walk because my darling husband was driving. He gave a brief thought to waiting in the no parking zone for me as I picked up my mail, a less than two minute errand, but a mall security guard was leaning against an outside wall smoking a cigarette. I wanted to tell him not to worry as they never seem to care that non-post-office patrons fill the spots on a regular basis, but he likes to obey laws.

As I approached the post office door I heard the security guard say to a co-worker previously hidden behind a pillar "So, are you worried about the visit from the big boss tomorrow?"

The other man expelled his inhaled smoke and replied, "Naw, I'm higher up than he is."

His co-worker replied, "Really? How so?"

"I've been working here longer."

"Huh." Silence for a second. "I don't think it works that way."

As I entered the post office I wished for one quick second that I'd heard the end of that conversation.

Just curious.

No, really.

Public Service Announcement

The tastefully wondrous Cella Bistro recently celebrated its six anniversary with a pig roast. I gained a few pounds tasting coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and other delectable delights. They might sound like ordinary dishes but Chef Michael Cella does some sort of magic to them that turns them into second and third-helping worthy.

They have just announced a series of events they're calling sundays at cella. 

One Sunday a month they'll be hosting a special wine dinner event starting at 5 p.m.

The summer sunday series begins June 24th, where the wines featured will be hidden gems from local shops. Chef Michael will be pairing his menu creations with some of the Capital District's wine shops' best kept secrets.

On July 22nd the wine dinner will be a lobster bake with summer wines.

The final summer event will be held on August 19th, a farm to table pairing dinner created using the harvests of our own local Capital District farms.

The fall sunday series kicks off on September 16th, and features a delicious dinner paired with a line-up of cabernet sauvignon wines.

November 11th is something different, an American craft brewed beer dinner.

December 16th features sparkling wines, a perfect end to a great series of wine (and one beer!) and awesome food brought to you by Chef Michael Cella, his lovely wife Julia, chef-in-diapers, I mean training Anthony, and of course Jim and Cheryl Cella, the Bistro's secret weapons.

For more information see the flyer link under 'Sunday Series' here. 


Enjoy!

Um, Okay Department

I married my high school sweetheart. By the time I married him we were long done with high school and he was no longer a sweetheart. In spite of the fact that he was abusive is most of the ways one could be abusive in a relationship, I still wanted to marry him. I can only plead stupidity. Maybe some day I will provide details hereabouts, but it was not a total waste of time. I have plenty of material for my books in progress. And I won't have to pay him a percentage should any of them become successful.

We finally got divorced, at my instigation, although we'd been apart for a long time because he decided to get one of his "women" (I use the term in quotes because all of his "women" knew he was married but didn't hesitate to get involved with him so ...) pregnant while we were married and actually suggested I help him raise the child. It took me just under ten years to get the message, but once I did I never looked back. And today I am married to the most amazing man, so it all worked out for me. Not so much for him but that karma, she's looking out for those of us who've been done wrong one time or another. We've been divorced since 12/30/1999. Funnily enough I cannot remember when we got married.

He still calls now and then, but I am not quite sure why. It's always something stupid, and my husband and I get a good laugh out of it.

Recently one of my sisters had a birthday. He texted her and wished her a happy birthday, said they needed to get together for cocktails, and then said "I miss you". 

I had to read the text for myself, I did not believe her at first.

After another round of good laughs, this time including my sister (I have multiple sisters, older and younger, none of which approved of him.), I thought to myself, wtf? I mean, really? "I miss you"? And yeah, he always texts me on my birthday but it's just "Happy Birthday". Maybe because he knows better.

But then again, he was shocked that I got married again because he told me that I was such a loser no guy would ever want me, so I might as well just wait for him to get tired of the girl he got pregnant (she dragged him to the altar as soon as the ink was dry on our divorce) because he'd come back eventually.

Um, okay.

ThrillerFest VII

If you're an aspiring author or an avid reader, ThrillerFest is the place to be seen this July. I will be attending my sixth, and it is one of the highlights of my summer, mainly because I am both an aspiring author and an avid reader. This year will be different. I will be attending with a completed novel. It may not change my experience, but somehow I think it will. Because I did it, I wrote 'The End'. I won't be wandering the halls soaking up the energy of David Morrell, Lee Child, R.L. Stine, Heather Graham and countless others secretly wishing that I had a novel under my belt. Because I will. 

And maybe some day I will hold that novel in my hands. And be on the dais for the Debut Author's Breakfast. Here's the fabulous Sophie Littlefield in 2010 when she was a debut author. (The gentlemen at the podium is Andrew Gross, a master storyteller you should check out if you haven't already.)

I know, one step at a time ...

I have learned a lot at the past six ThrillerFests that I've attended. The most important thing I've learned is that I want to be an author. I am already a writer. I want to take the next step and hold that hardcover with an awesome cover in my hands and see my (pen) name on the cover. Why? I love books, and I love to read, and I have stories in me that I want to share. I want to be part of that fabric of storytellers because I know that is where I belong. I have always thought of myself as a jack of all trades in lots of areas, from cooking to installing sheetrock to gardening to writing code. I think I could be a master at this author thing.

ThrillerFest is great for connecting with all sorts of knowledgeable people in the book industry. I've met bloggers, editors, debut authors and New York Times bestsellers, agents, readers, marketers, booksellers, and aspiring authors. Aspiring authors are among my favorites. They fill me with renewed enthusiasm, teach me something new about the journey, commiserate, read pages and provide helpful suggestions, and best of all, give me hope when I see one of my writers-in-crime pals on the debut author dais the following year. 

This year ThrillerFest is honoring Jack Higgins (2012 ThrillerMaster), Ann Rule (2012 True Thriller Award), and Richard North Patterson (2012 Silver Bullet Award). Spotlight guests Lee Child, John Sandford, and Catherine Coulter will be joined by R.L. Stine, last year's ThrillerMaster, and Karin Slaughter, last year's Silver Bullet Award recipient. ITW will also be awarding recognition to the Best Hardcover Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story. The finalists can be found here.

If you attend, be prepared to meet a lot of awesome people, have great conversation in the bar, the hallways, and the parties, get inspired, add lots of books to your library, enjoy lunch in the always splenderific Grand Central Station, and hear some great panel discussions.

And be on the lookout for really cool moments like Robert Dugoni and Jon Land modelling cute outfits. You never know when they'll happen!

Resolution

Thirty-three years ago, in 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared. He was on his way to catch the school bus, and somewhere during that two block walk he was taken.

I cannot imagine the pain and heartbreak his family went through. Not only then but now. I cannot imagine living every day wondering what happened to my child. Looking at the face of every child, then teenager, then adult, wondering, hoping, praying.

Etan was the first face on a milk carton. The agony behind the first real focus on missing and abducted children and young adults. The pain that launched awareness of a changing world where your child could be gone in an instant.

In March of 1982 Karen Wilson, a student at the University at Albany, vanished without a trace after leaving Colonie Center mall, a place that my family and friends frequented then and now. Karen disappeared near where I grew up. We helped search for her through woods near our home. Because of her I developed a fascination with missing people, and I have never forgotten her name.

In March of 1998 Suzanne Lyall, also a student at the University at Albany, vanished without a trace between her job at Crossgates Mall and the University. A little over two miles apart, maybe six minutes by car. One stretch of road, well-traveled. Crossgates Mall is another family favorite, and I myself attended the University.

These things happen even in familiar places. Safe places. Comfortable places. In the blink of an eye. In a split second of time when every possible witness has been distracted by their phone, their child, their car keys.

There have been others in our area, and I can only hope that some day their families will get closure. As for Etan, here seems to be resolution at last for Etan's family. A man confessed and was arrested. 

I hope Etan's family has found some measure of peace at last.  

I Didn't Kill It

Two Christmases ago we got a present that sort of fell by the wayside. Not because we didn't appreciate it. It was a plant in a box, billed as an Amaryllis, and my spring/summer/fall gardener figured that I would plant it when the weather was safe. I put it somewhere where I wouldn't forget about it and forgot about it. And of course I didn't read the box. 

Until a few weeks ago.

I found it recently and this time I read the box. Apparently it is an indoor plant. Because it was given to us by someone special I decided to give it a whirl, carefully following the directions even though I was sure it was pretty dead.

Much to my surprise something started happening. A very pretty something.

I'm glad I didn't kill it! And next time I receive on of these I'll plant it sooner, I promise.

Hey, I Know That Guy!

My darling husband buys me the latest season of Ghost Hunters every Christmas. I was particularly interested in an episode comprised of a visit to Alcatraz, the famous island prison that had a pretty decent t.v. show based on a pretty neat premise based on the prison and its inhabitants. As is the case with many new shows I get hooked on, it was not renewed for a second season. I really hate when that happens.I must have bad taste in television.

Anyway, since I have visited Alcatraz (will dutifully report on that in a future post), I was interested to see what the boys (and girls) came up with. They delivered some pretty creepy EVPs. One of the local gentlemen featured on the show was a man named Jim Fassbinder, Ghost Guide Extraordinaire. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he was wearing modern clothing, but the face was the same. Just to be sure I whipped out my pictures and yup, that was him. Here he is in one of my more spooky photos of him, guiding us through the scary streets of San Francisco in search of spirits.

Jim's the 'spirit' behind the San Francisco Ghost Hunt, a three hour walking tour of some of San Francisco's spooky places. The walk is only a mile, but packed with fun stories and amazing architecture.

We began our tour at the beautiful and historic Queen Anne Hotel on Sutter Street in Pacific Heights. The Queen Anne is in fact part of the tour, and we spent a lot of time exploring it. The hotel is well-known for being haunted, particularly by a Miss Mary Lake. Miss Mary was the headmistress of the school that originally occupied 1590 Sutter Street. It is said that she was devastated when the school closed and she still wanders the hallways. The Ghosts of San Francisco has two pages devoted to the Queen Anne and her history here and here.

The hotel has also been the focus of many paranormal investigations, including Ghost Trackers and the SF Bay Area Paranormal Group. Charlyn Keating Chisholm, about.com Guide, wrote about her stay there: Haunted Hotels: Braving the Queen Anne Hotel     

Here are some of my pictures from the Queen Anne. Orbs were plentiful!

View of the Outside

Front Parlor - orb on curtain

Sitting Area

Another Sitting Area

Really Cool Clock

Slightly Creepy Light Fixture

Beautiful Staircase

View from Staircase

Orbs-a-plenty Staircase

The Neatest Chair I've Seen Lately

We are definitely going to stay here on our next trip to SF!