Back at the start of 2015, I signed up for a booth at the new, first-annual Bay Area Book Festival to be held in downtown Berkeley, CA (home of my college alma mater). You never know how new festivals will be. I attended one in Albuquerque a few years before, where I sold one or two books over both weekend days (!). That certainly made the 8-1/2-hour drive (each way) and the overnights in the hotel worthwhile, don't you think? Anyway, I crossed my fingers, mailed my check, and found two writer friends to share the space and costs.
This festival looked promising on several counts: beyond the hope for great sales, I still have family and friends there to visit, including two grandbabies whom I'd not seen in about six months. I arranged to stay with my son, Morgan, and his wife, saving money and providing family time.
My husband, Richard, said he'd take our dogs and cats in the RV to Joshua Tree, CA, while I was gone and spend some time with our other son. I suggested we leave a week early and drive in tandem so that we could spend a week there together before I traveled north. My plan was to leave there a few days before the festival and spend those days with my daughter-in-law, Cyndie, who lives near Davis, CA, while she attends veterinary graduate school. It sounded like a good plan. Off we went.
The first week was fine. We didn't see a lot of Scott, as he worked long hours, but what time we had together was nice. During that week, though, one of our cats, Rigel, developed a worsening of an allergic reaction he'd had (to what, we don't know). His nose and ears developed itchy scabs that made him very uncomfortable. I spoke to Cyndie, who suggested I bring Rigel with me so she could look him over.
My husband, Richard, said he'd take our dogs and cats in the RV to Joshua Tree, CA, while I was gone and spend some time with our other son. I suggested we leave a week early and drive in tandem so that we could spend a week there together before I traveled north. My plan was to leave there a few days before the festival and spend those days with my daughter-in-law, Cyndie, who lives near Davis, CA, while she attends veterinary graduate school. It sounded like a good plan. Off we went.
The first week was fine. We didn't see a lot of Scott, as he worked long hours, but what time we had together was nice. During that week, though, one of our cats, Rigel, developed a worsening of an allergic reaction he'd had (to what, we don't know). His nose and ears developed itchy scabs that made him very uncomfortable. I spoke to Cyndie, who suggested I bring Rigel with me so she could look him over.
I headed north, got to Cyndie's, and the following Monday took Rigel to the practicing vet to get a second opinion. Allergies, he concurred, and gave him some pills. All was well during the day—Cyndie and I even got in a hike—but I didn't know there was a loose screen on one of Cyndie's sliding doors. Her cats are used to staying in at night and don't like to go out. Rigel, on the other hand, took this opening as carte blanche to have a night's fun.
Our guess is that something scared him and he ran off. When I checked on his whereabouts inside—no cat. We spent the rest of the evening searching, and I was up again at first light. The day passed. No Rigel. I contacted the rescue site associated with his microchip, and they alerted local vets, hospitals, and rescues. I put up posters. About halfway through the day, my phone alerted me that I'd met my fitness goal of 10,000 steps. Great for my health, but still no Rigel.
Our guess is that something scared him and he ran off. When I checked on his whereabouts inside—no cat. We spent the rest of the evening searching, and I was up again at first light. The day passed. No Rigel. I contacted the rescue site associated with his microchip, and they alerted local vets, hospitals, and rescues. I put up posters. About halfway through the day, my phone alerted me that I'd met my fitness goal of 10,000 steps. Great for my health, but still no Rigel.
When it began to get dark again, I lost my composure and was sure he'd been taken by a hawk or a coyote. When it was completely dark, I prayed and asked friends and family on Facebook to do the same. The next morning, I was out again at daybreak, but Rigel didn't show up or answer my calls. I'd just gone out again around 10 a.m., when a neighbor came to the door with a cat carrier and Rigel inside. She said she'd seen him earlier, but he wouldn't come out from where he was hiding in their tractor. Finally, Rigel's fear was overwhelmed by the smell of food. I showered him (and her) with hugs and sequestered him in a bedroom, only letting him out when we were positive all the doors and windows were closed. I spent a lot of time holding him, and he clung to me like a second skin.
After part of the next day at Cyndie's, I left Rigel with her as planned and drove to to Oakland, where I would stay with my son, Morgan, and his family during and after the Book Festival. I didn't want to leave the cat behind, but Morgan is allergic, and it wouldn't have been right to inflict that on him. Besides, Rigel was well cared for where he was.
After part of the next day at Cyndie's, I left Rigel with her as planned and drove to to Oakland, where I would stay with my son, Morgan, and his family during and after the Book Festival. I didn't want to leave the cat behind, but Morgan is allergic, and it wouldn't have been right to inflict that on him. Besides, Rigel was well cared for where he was.
We had arranged to set up our booth early on Friday afternoon, but we arrived to find a tent with no tables. Turns out the rental company didn't have enough trucks to bring tents and tables at once and they weren't coming until evening. We left and decided to get there early on Saturday to set up. Time with the grandchildren that night was heaven, and I looked forward to a good first festival event the next day, despite the glitch in the afternoon.
On Saturday morning, the tables were there and setup went smoothly. What I (nor my booth mates, who were from Colorado) hadn't counted on was the cold weather that day in Berkeley. It was foggy until nearly 2 pm (and living in Arizona, I don't even know what fog is anymore). It barely got over 60°F all day, and the wind blew the fog around in gusts. We made some sales, but a lot of the time we spent shivering, wishing we'd brought gloves, hats, and long woolies.
Berkeley is as crazy as I remembered it—perhaps even more so. Our booth was located in the old People's Park, now renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. I missed most of the large goings-on when I attended Berkeley in the early 70s. The worst event during my time was a garbage strike and one small riot, cause unknown. Peace and love were still very much in fashion then, and that seems to have come full circle today, so I felt both in and out of place at the same time.
Berkeley is as crazy as I remembered it—perhaps even more so. Our booth was located in the old People's Park, now renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. I missed most of the large goings-on when I attended Berkeley in the early 70s. The worst event during my time was a garbage strike and one small riot, cause unknown. Peace and love were still very much in fashion then, and that seems to have come full circle today, so I felt both in and out of place at the same time.
The next day, I arrived with numerous coats, so the weather was beautiful. Many more people came that day, whether due to the better weather or the fact that they learned of it from attendees the previous day. All in all, a productive weekend, although it's tough work trying to explain to parents over and over again why your books more special than the ones down the line. Part of the success at shows like this is salesmanship, and I count myself lucky to have worked in my mom's gift shop for many years an eon ago.
I was able to spend time with Morgan and his family in the evenings during the weekend and then all day Monday with Eli and the kids. Charlie is almost 2-1/2 and is in love with letters and sounding out words. Blocks were also big. Malcolm at nearly 7 months is the happiest baby I've seen, and it was a joy to be with them both. The entire family got together on Saturday night, and we had great fun catching up with the help of some bottles of good wine.
On Tuesday, I realized I wanted to leave early in order to avoid having to drive nonstop for 8-1/2 hours to Scott's house and then drive home again the following day. I packed up and headed back to Cyndie's to collect Rigel and head south, only to get a text saying I'd forgotten my laptop in Oakland (and my wits evidently somewhere else). I grabbed Rigel, headed back to Oakland for the computer, and then hit the then beginning rush-hour traffic I'd left early to avoid. Still, I made it through and kept going.
Along the way, however, I developed an awful cramp in my right foot. I was using cruise control, but even doing nothing, my foot continued to hurt. I called Richard hoping he could find a decent place for me to stay the night that wasn't too far from the highway. He suggested Kettleman City, and I set my nav to get me there. Before I could check in to the motel, though, I had to find a pan and some kitty litter, which I'd forgotten to think about in my haste to depart. Near the freeway, Kettleman City is nothing but a group of motels, restaurants, fast food establishments, and gas stations. A check with all four gas stations proved fruitless, and they suggested I drive to Kettleman City proper. There I found one market (see above, which I believe was most of the actual town), where I purchased a foil turkey roasting pan and a large bag of rice, since no kitty litter was to be had.
I hobbled into the motel, purchased three bags of peanut M&Ms from the vending machine for "dinner," and limped with the cat and his litter pan to my room. Turns out, rice worked pretty well. Staying off my foot also made it feel much better in the morning, and with cruise control, getting to Joshua Tree was an easy drive. Driving home the following morning was also easy, and getting home felt wonderful, although I miss Charlie and Malcolm more now than ever.
I know I promised some of you that I'd try to visit while I was in northern California, and I didn't. Next time, we'll arrange the visits in advance, and I'll try to avoid losing a cat along the way. The good news is that we're all home safely and I've finally caught up on my sleep. Thanks for all the prayers. Now back to writing, and more on that in an upcoming post.
I hobbled into the motel, purchased three bags of peanut M&Ms from the vending machine for "dinner," and limped with the cat and his litter pan to my room. Turns out, rice worked pretty well. Staying off my foot also made it feel much better in the morning, and with cruise control, getting to Joshua Tree was an easy drive. Driving home the following morning was also easy, and getting home felt wonderful, although I miss Charlie and Malcolm more now than ever.
I know I promised some of you that I'd try to visit while I was in northern California, and I didn't. Next time, we'll arrange the visits in advance, and I'll try to avoid losing a cat along the way. The good news is that we're all home safely and I've finally caught up on my sleep. Thanks for all the prayers. Now back to writing, and more on that in an upcoming post.
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