Fun Travels-First for Books, Then Good Wanderings Down Memory Lane

A couple of weeks ago, I strapped on my big boy Road Warrior shoes and hit the bricks with serious and enthusiastic purpose. Good adventures lay ahead.

I headed out of Charleston for Blowing Rock and Boone, North Carolina. Hannah had gotten me slotted into a fun and interesting gig called Pinecones and something or other Literary Festival in Boone and I was, among others, to be a presenter.

First I checked into a lovely Inn over In Blowing Rock. Gideon’s Ridge was recommended to me by my son-in-law’s mother who knows her way all around so many nice places and this spot did not disappoint. Sitting up on a high ridge looking deep down into very verdant vales and valleys, she is located just ‘up the hill’ from the original (and still pretty nifty) ‘Blowing Rock’. Gideon’s had all  the bells and whistles including vibrant hospitality, attention to detail, plenty of comfort, great views and knock-out food and wine. I was bequeathed a little house tucked thirty steps down the slope from the main Inn, hidden and covered by dogwoods and magnolias. It was a wonderful spot to rest and read and write. And I did.

The festival was fun and interesting and had that western North Carolina half goofy, half distracted, hippy-dippy feel. Lots of books, intriguing people, many flower children and there were little groups of performers who acted out portions of our respective books; had not come across that before. And after all the closures and cancellations caused by Covid, it surely was nice to get back out in the real world and interact. There was a question and  answer session and it was apparent that a lot of the crowd of 25-30 who came to listen and talk with me had indeed read FRIDAY CALLS and were informed. Good to see that folks are paying attention out there. 

Then, it was off and up to Richmond. My old boarding school buddy, ‘Daddy Jack’ Crews, originally of South Boston, Virginia fame, now a busily retired captain of industry had put together a mini-reunion of a few of us from Choate days and after spending a couple of days in Richmond, we would head north to meet up with the others.

We had a grand time in Richmond. Jack’s wife Meg is wonderful company and a hostess with the mosteMuch visiting and relaxing and Jack and I got a good look at both the outstanding Virginia Museum of Art and the History of Virginia Museum. These are first rate attractions and worthy of a good going-over. Richmond has so many gorgeous neighborhoods and is such a handsome city and has become a neat, no longer sedentary city.

The last night, we had a delicious dinner in the lovely Commonwealth Club and then, as good fortune and better luck would have it, I wandered down the street to the venerable and still really classy Jefferson Hotel and drank good wine with a good friend deep into the shank of the night. We did not solve all the world’s problems but we gave it a good try and had a good time doing it.

Then next day, onto Lewes, Delaware (pronounced ‘Lewis’), the first little settlement in the Blue Hen state. Our host and hostess were more Choate friends, Skutch Mason (master chef and sailor) and his lovely wife Sally. Their house sat right out on the beach at Delaware Bay. It was a And later that afternoon, we were joined by the last of our little crew, the one and only Spottswood Payne Dudley, a dancing fool if ever there was one.

By the way, Lewes is a fascinating place with plenty of history and pretty beaches, not to mention plenty of retail therapy and good bars and restaurants too.

While at Choate for those many years long ago, the four of us, a Texan, a Virginian, a Marylander and a North Carolinian, hung out together and persistently and consistently upheld the virtues of the South and its soul and beach music. We would gather and croon at the drop of a hat. Motown had nothing on us. As most of our classmates were from New England and the northeast, it would be fair to say that our little group were considered harmlessly and amusingly weird. Didn’t bother us a bit. We were just spreading the good word about the South and having a good time doing it.  

So fast forward to the present day. We had a fine, albeit small, mini-reunion. Folks brought their yearbooks (Class of 1968) and lots of memorabilia and Daddy Jack even brought back some game film of one of our bunches’ earlier on campus reunions. We ate too much, drank too much and talked our heads off in memory and reminiscence and laughed and laughed some more. It was a fine time.

And after our last night, we remain firmly convinced that we can all still sing! Once it got past the witching hour and the fluid levels in the bottles were dropping ever downward, it was one hundred percent definitive!

But the time to move on was nigh. Jack and Spottswood were off to their 50th Reunion at Princeton, Skutch was headed back to their new home in Annapolis and I left at 7 a.m. and humped it on home in a little under 12 hours. I had never driven that long before, really no more than 7 hours but the sun was shining and I had been so greatly rewarded by my good friends and I had a good book on the Civil War to listen to. There was no difficulty to the trip.

Now, I’m home and thank God for Hannah who is helping me wrestle with the edits for SLIM AND NONE and I’m starting to put together the basic structural outline for my next book which will be titled ‘OK, I’VE SEEN ENOUGH’. There will be no further continuation for the intriguing lawyer, Eddie Terrell. A trilogy for him is plenty for now.

I may come back later and do a ‘Plus One’ on him; we will just half to see.

‘SEEN ENOUGH’ will have its intrigues and bad guys and good guys but it will be built on a foundation that’s going to be different. So, we will see.

Now, all I’ve got to do is get my 2021 taxes worked up and filed. I have trips on the horizon to Philly and San Fran and Aiken. And maybe some more. And of course, I have books to read.

So, y’all go visit with your old friends. It’s a treat of a thing to do.

And everyone, keep staying safe!

All my best, Vernon