A million things running through my mind

We just came back from dropping Will off at the airport.  He is going to New York with some of the theater kids and teachers from his school for a five day extravaganza of Broadway shows, musicals, workshops.  And I hope they all have the best time ever and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was a little bit scared too. 

Even though, or maybe because I traveled to New York on a Greyhound bus when I was his age, although the New York of 1978 was a very different New York than it is today.  And I was all by myself and going there to live and had no idea what the place was like, whereas Will is very well traveled and isn’t going on his own, and is flying, not traveling on a Greyhound bus for ten days, washing in the sinks at the bus terminals.  He is not landing in the Port Authority Terminal, with pimps trying to wrestle his one and only suitcase from him to make him follow them home.

He is going with his school and his friends and there are 2 teachers and 10 kids.  It’s going to be great. 

I don’t know why, at the airport, I got so scared.

Tomorrow, Don and I go to Surrey.  I have the reading at the Strawberry Hill Chapters, and then for the next couple days, I am teaching writing workshops, doing blue pencil appointments and a panel. 

I know this will come as a huge shock to my readers… but I haven’t packed yet. 

Nope.  Haven’t the slightest idea of what to throw into my suitcase.

And I still have to decide on what I’m going to do for my workshops.  I have a vague idea, but only part of it carved out. 

There IS one thing I have done however, but the only reason I was so organized on this front was because I am a loyal friend. 

See, Karen (aka K.C. Dyer) told me that there was going to be a masked ball on Saturday night.  Costumes optional, but that everyone would be wearing masks.  Then she told me about her costume and I thought, oh how nice.  I had no intention of wearing one myself.  I’d had enough of that doing all those years of acting.

However, then Don decided to come to Surrey to keep me company.  Will was going to be in New York.  Why not?  It would be fun. 

He filled out the forms, paid the fee and got his confirmation.  However, he couldn’t find any reference to the said-masked-ball. 

“I’m sure it’s in there,“ I said confidently, but as I thought about it, I started to get a nervous dropping feeling in my stomach.

Now, maybe my excellent husband didn’t read the SIWC materials carefully… OR ... maybe the very wonderful people who set this whole thing up, were over loaded on coffee and forgot to mention it. 

Anyway, I pictured Karen, running around in full literary/Halloween regalia… by herself.

So, off I went to the costume store and got myself an outfit. 

And then I made Don get one too.  He was very reluctant, but I was insistent.  “You can’t go to a costume event and not have a costume!“  I said.  “You’ll look like a party pooper and have to lurk in the corner.“ 

It wasn’t until after Don had found something he was quite pleased with and was laying it gently it in the trunk of our car, saying with a shy happy smile, “I always wanted to be a musketeer.“  That I broke the news to him that I’d thought about it and he might be right.  It was very possible that it would just be the three of us running around in full costumes looking like fools. 

“But never mind,“ I said to his appalled face.  “We’ll be the ones having the best time.“

So, I have no author clothes washed and ironed, haven’t worked out all the kinks in my workshops, but by God, I’m right and ready, totally prepared in the fool department. 

Posted by Meg Tilly on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 in Chewing the Fat