Friday, June 28, 2013

Memoir Writing


 
 
                                                                             Reinvention
     Preparation for the trip was enough to jar me senseless.  Why is it that there is always twice as much work to do prior and post travel for work.  Considering I am a fairly organized person I should be able to get this easily.   Maybe it was the excitement of the chase, or the vision of freedom from dull work-a-day business at hand.  Fear might be a factor as well.  I pulled up my bootstraps and got ready to embark on a mission that five years prior I would have never imagined for myself.
     The plane smelled awful, the seats were tight, and the lady next to me was a clown.  Really, she was a clown. She had her trunk packed and ready to go to her own convention in New York City. Unaccustomed to wearing suits here to fore I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the jacket while on the plane.  Never in my life time did I imagine that I would be travelling to New York, alone, for the world’s largest book convention, Book Expo.  The trip was a short two hours, that clown was interesting!  We were served lasagna, yes that was when they served you meals on planes and your luggage got to ride for free. When we weren’t talking, I looked around the plane to enjoy a little people watching, I love to watch people.  Although this was only 15 years ago it was before we had to check out all of our “plane neighbors” to be sure they didn’t intend to send our plane into a tower or oblivion.  It was a simpler time.  As we began our descent I began to get really anxious, ok, I got to the airport and got on the plane, but now how would I ever find a taxi and get to the hotel?  And where on earth was the hotel, I began to pull my little map out so that I could feel somewhat in charge of my travel.
     Leaving the plane I noticed a stream of people walking toward something quickly, maybe baggage or food, I decided to follow because I didn’t know what else I would do.  We did end up in Baggage Claim so all was well.  Having grown up in a very small town, I don’t know a stranger, so instead of walking around and searching the huge, gray airport to look for a taxi, I just asked someone.
     Entering the cab I felt like I was stepping into someone from Ghana’s home.  The air was tinged with the smell of a forward incense and decorations abounded.  Please take me to Chelsea I said, here is the address.  The smile that met my request was so sweet and open that I felt at ease immediately.  “Are you here for a vacation?” my driver asked. “No, I’m here for a business trip.” I returned, as I felt little shivers all over me.  Was I excited or nervous, or both I asked myself.  Who would have dreamed that my love of books could have brought me to this moment?  Sure, I felt trepidation also I was very proud of my accomplishments.
     My bio might have read; first decade - small town girl meets boy and after graduation gets married, has three children, and becomes a crazy-stay-at home mom; second decade- kids want to go to college mom has to work, what will I do with myself?  I love reading so how about working in a bookstore? Great, applied for a job, was hired, had a good work ethic and gift for matching the right book with the right person.  Rather surprisingly in six months I became the buyer of half of the books for a 50K title store.  I loved it.
     Settled in to my hotel I decided it was time to hit the streets and find the Javits Center and Book Mecca.  Walking was my choice of transport because I wanted to see everything, and do everything.  At the Javits, on the escalator looking down on the publishers wares and the hundreds of other book people I thought, wow you really made it.  I have to confess to a little Mary Tyler Moore moment there.  I surprised myself and everyone who knew me as the quiet stay-at-home mom from a small town.
     Decade three: Amazon kills the books business and I again have to reinvent myself by asking myself what I loved most about being an executive.  Was it the money, the travel, or the suits?  Was it free dinners, conventions, free books?  No, I am, and always have been driven by a love for reading.  A few zillion courses and I will soon have my reading licensure and my Masters of Literacy and I couldn’t be more proud.
 
 
 
 

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