DEBORAH CROMBIE:-- Oh, my gosh, how much do I love this blog? This week we have gone from Austin, Texas, to Siberia, to Tasmania! Talk about armchair travelers! And maybe some of us will be tempted to do even more adventurous traveling than that. Today, however, is extra special for me, as I have family in Hobart, Tasmania, and have dreamed of visiting. But in the meantime, I think I need at least a Tasmanian Tiger bumper sticker while I travel along with Wendall Thomas's Cyd Redondo. (And, yes, Wendall, I am an emotional hoarder.)
Endangered Everything
by
Wendall Thomas
When I
first decided to set the second Cyd Redondo mystery in Australia, and
specifically Tasmania, I wasn’t sure whether I would continue the “endangered
animal” theme that had been so central to the first book. I knew I needed a psychic
break from snakes, at least.
Then I
came across the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger. This fabulous marsupial has the
body of a wild dog, the stripes of a Sumatran tiger, the gaping jaws of a wolf,
the coughing cry of a human baby, and the pouch of a kangaroo—males too, to
prevent their privates from catching on bushes...thistles can be murder!
At the
moment, the thylacine is “functionally extinct.” What the hell, you might
wonder, does that mean?
It means
they’re not entirely sure. Although the last verified tiger died in Hobart,
Tasmania’s Beaumaris Zoo in 1936, five minutes on the internet turns up dozens
of video clips of potential paw prints and sightings. And the hold the creature
has on the Tasmanian imagination is
profound and ubiquitous—landing it on the Tasmanian government logo, the Hobart
Police Station door, countless murals, beer bottles, coffee blends, magnets,
playing cards, and oven mitts in every market and souvenir shop.
I loved the
idea that there might still be Tasmanian tigers out there and that Cyd might be
involved in “un-endangering” them, with the use of her irreplaceable vintage
Balenciaga bag.
And then I realized what the whole series was really about for
me—not just animals or accessories—endangered everything.
I long for
so many things that seem to have disappeared or are fast disappearing—corded
phones, Go-Go boots, Jello 1-2-3, cassette mix tapes, handwritten letters,
picking up your own take-out food, manners, the Oxford comma, and
democracy.
Am I just
afraid of change? Am I an emotional hoarder? Or is that the human
condition—longing for what we’ve lost? Cyd clings to old Fodor’s Guides and Orient Express posters, the ancient compass her
late father left her, her brousins’ Linda Ronstadt albums, and her profession.
Let’s face it, travel agents are on the endangered list for sure.
And what
about us? Readers and writers? Popular wisdom says that we are “functionally
extinct” too. The internet is always declaring that bookstores are dead, the
novel is dead, print is dead, no one reads, etc. But here we are. We’re not
extinct. Yet. Functioning? Depends on the day. So while I’m still here, I want
Cyd to fight the good fight to keep the best things (and creatures) alive, and
I’m determined to do the same.
What
endangered or “functionally extinct” things do you treasure or miss the most?
What objects/traditions/habits are you still trying to keep alive? Or are you
embracing the present and future, full steam ahead? I’d love to know.
Wendall Thomas teaches in the Graduate Film School at UCLA,
lectures internationally on screenwriting, and has worked as an entertainment
reporter, script consultant, and film and television writer. Her novel Lost
Luggage was nominated for both a Lefty and Macavity Award for Best Debut
Mystery of 2017 and her short fiction has appeared in the crime anthologies Ladies
Night (2015) Last Resort (2017), and Murder-A-Go-Go’s (2019).
Drowned Under is her second Cyd Redondo Mystery.
DEBS: I want to know what Wendall wants to know. What do you hang on to, dear REDS and readers? (And I adore this photo of Wendall!)
Congratulations, Wendall, on your new Cyd Redondo book. Perhaps you could tell us a bit about the story?
ReplyDeleteWhat do I hold onto? Well, I am fond of technology, but I’ll admit that I still have [and love] a rotary dial telephone . . . my VCR . . . my preference for paper and print books [even though I have, and appreciate, a Nook and a Kindle] . . . .
Hi Joan and thanks so much! In the story, my travel agent protagonist, Cyd Redondo, goes looking for her ex-in-laws, who've gone missing on an Australian cruise, and stumbles over a dead body and into a plot to steal the last living Tasmanian tiger. It starts in Brooklyn, moves to a cruise ship in the Bass Strait, and winds up in Tasmania.
DeleteJoan - I forgot to say I have seven VCRs in storage, just in case!
DeleteI love my CD's and Blu-Rays. I am having a hard time going digital on both of these things.
ReplyDeleteThis book is a lot of fun!
Thanks so much, Mark! I am the same way, but worse. I still have my VHS tapes and albums... but there is something about holding a cover in your hands, I think, that you just don't get with streaming anything.
DeleteWendall, you know how crazy I am about Cyd! And, of course, I am so thrilled to have spent time with you in St. Pete and have become friends. I so needed this fun series when it came out, and Drowned Under captures the magic all over again. My review says so much more, and I'll post a link to it here. And, please Jungle Red friends, take a look at the interview I did with Wendall, also on my blog. She gives the best answers, and you can find out her awesome connection to Bonnie Raitt. (I'll post the links to my blog pieces with Wendall in the reply section of my comment.)
ReplyDeleteWendall, I am so happy to see you here on Jungle Reds. What you've written here shines with the same enthusiasm and brilliance that all your writing does.
My interview with Wendall is at http://www.readingroom-readmore.com/2019/03/reading-room-interview-with-wendall.html?m=1
DeleteYou can find my review at http://www.readingroom-readmore.com/2019/03/reading-room-interview-with-wendall.html?m=1
DeleteAnd, what I hang onto are definitely books. I still love the print so much more than e-books. I also hang onto some toys of my kids, including those ubiquitous Beanie Babies that you couldn't throw a stick without hitting back in the 90s. I even have a collection of holiday ones and occasionally add new ones to that. My Halloween Beanies are the ones I have the most of, with Christmas not too far behind.
Kathy! You are too, too kind and I have to thank Jungle Reds, as I think we actually first met here, didn't we? When they last were kind enough to have me on? Very glad Cyd has a friend in you, and so do I!
DeleteAnd yes, books!!! They have actually become furniture in our house, with candlesticks on top of them (probably not a great idea...) as we have no more room on shelves. Please post pics of the holidays Beanies, for heaven's sake!
DeleteYes, we did first meet here on Jungle Reds, Wendall. Jungle Reds has been such an amazing source of great authors for me. It's either the last place I check at night, in the wee morning hours, before I go to bed or the first place I check when I get online the next day.
DeleteKismet.
DeleteWhat a wonderful theme, Wendall! Gotta ask - did you do research for the book IN Tasmania?
ReplyDeleteI don't miss go-go boots at all, but I have a dozen quilts my mother made and my father's wool bathrobe. What's hard for me to let go of are the little things. My international doll collection. The little kanji signature stamp my students in Japan made me. A leather cassette tape box made in Niger (that I don't keep cassettes in). Stuff like that. I wish I had hung onto a rotary phone, frankly!
Good Morning, Edith! Yes, I've been lucky enough to go to Tasmania for two short trips and I am in love with it. I agree about the little things (always hard to rationalize to my husband, who considers it clutter...). I would love to see your doll collection and that signature stamp - how fabulous. I have to admit, back in the 90's when Pottery Barn put out the retro black phones that looked like the 40's ones, I bought one and still use it. It just seems more glamorous, which is something I need when I'm on hold for eight hours with AT&T!
DeleteWhat do I keep?
ReplyDeleteVery little any more. A few books from my childhood, shoe boxes full of photos of people whose names I've for gotten, old birthday and Valentine's Day cards, although I've found a function for that. Julie and I go to this mother lode and give each other cards that we've received or given to each other before. Since we forget them after a year or so, they are like brand new and make for lots of tickles and grins.
Our attic is full of dead people's furnishings. The advantage to that is when we need a lamp or a picture or an occasional table, we shop the attic first. It's fun and a cheap way to redecorate.
What do I pitch?
First of all I delete all texts and emails other than something that I need to file. All snail mail either gets shredded or goes strait into the recycle. Most of it is junk mail these days or duplicate catalogs. Most of the swag I get at various events. Sorry people, but I don't need one more bookmark unless you've left me a sweet note on it. I keep inscribed books, first editions or ARCS even but the rest get donated. If I want to read it, I order it on Kindle.
Can you tell I'm trying to lighten up my life? Next I need to gather up all the old computers lying around, scrub them clean, and take them to our local recycle for electronics. If they were any good, I'd still be using them. I have one from 1995, wind up I think.
Happy Spring everyone!
Ann
Ann -- I love the idea of re-giving cards (I keep all mine too), what a lovely way to recycle and relive. Yes, the bookmarks. I seriously considered not doing them for Drowned Under for exactly that reason and just bringing chocolate to readings instead. If you find a good service (or the right bleach?) to scrub old computers, please post, as I have the same problem. Happy spring back!
DeleteYou mean I don't have to do bookmarks? That would be something I could cross off my to-do list, and write instead...
DeleteHahaha. What if we all just stopped?????
DeleteWendall Thomas, I've just started your first book and am laughing out loud. So glad there is a 2nd book for me to read. As to hanging onto things? I still prefer paper over digital,so I have story ideas as original newspaper clippings and a recipe file that IS a file.Plus my mom's recipe file too. We have lots of vinyl music too, many decades old. Some of it is not even available on CD. But I am trying to declutter bit by bit. We finally got rid of the many volume encyclopedia!
ReplyDeleteTriss -- Thanks so much for the kind words about Lost Luggage. Thrilled that you're laughing at it. I prefer paper too. I tend to keep too many digital files on my computer and they're much harder to find/organize for me for some reason. And I have so many scraps of paper and index cards with recipes on them as well. I'd prefer to cook from something with stains! I have all my albums and you're right, many of them have never come out on CD or MP3s, so I'm holding onto those as long as my turntable still works. Ah, encyclopedias, that's a tough call.
DeleteTriss! YOu WON Finding Katarina M! Email me!
DeleteWelcome Wendall, this looks like such fun. And Tasmania is definitely on my bucket list! I don't miss books because I have 100s of them and plan to have them always:). I was to saying to my hub the other day after seeing a production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, "I wonder whatever happened to my lederhosen?" No really, I had a pair!
ReplyDeleteLederhosen? Come on, how cool are you, Lucy! I bet you looked fab. Yes, the books are staying. And I can't recommend Tasmania enough. If you do go, don't miss MONA, the museum that's built under a winery and that you can only reach by ferry! Thanks so much for having me on the blog.
DeleteLucy, Rick has a pair of real lederhosen that his parents bought him when they lived in Germany when he was about three. They're in a box in our attic somewhere:-)
DeleteThose MUST come out. Photos please.
DeleteI have a dresser drawer filled with not only my costume jewelry, but some of my mother's. During the year, I wear about five different long strands of beads, looped around my neck two or three times. Once in a while, after I buy a new top, I go through the drawer, seeking a choker or one strand necklace. And then push it closed.
ReplyDeleteAnd a vintage T-shirt labeled "All Star Mom" from the years my son played baseball.
Hi Margeret, I save a lot of costume jewelry too, and to be honest, I'm not wearing as much of it as I should. You've inspired me to load up on multiple necklaces at once. What a great idea. And the T-shirt, well that has to stay.
DeleteHi Wendall, I am about to rectify my lapse and go off to find both books featuring Cyd--sounds like just what I need to be reading right now! I know very little about Tasmania, so your newest will be like a mini-vacation.
ReplyDeleteTwo things I hoard for emotional reasons--photographs and letters. I have scanned many of the photos in order to share, but to sit and hold them in my hands and relive those wonderful memories--can't do that on a screen. Same with letters. To touch those pages that were held by my beloved grandmother or my mom or dad as they wrote to me--priceless. And I love the last photo of you on today's blog--such a great shot!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Flora -- Thanks for the kind words and how lovely of you to consider reading the books. I'm so in love with Tasmania that I really want people to know about it. It's a magical place. I am so with you on letters and real photos. I'm with my Dad for his 85th birthday today and we were going through a box of old photos together - it's just not the same scrolling through your phone...and I have pretty much every letter I've ever gotten. I agree that knowing someone touched the paper, wrote the words, it's more powerful, at least for me.
DeleteCongratulations on the new book!
ReplyDeleteI like technology, I like "new" things. But I still have some cherished DVDs and I don't see giving them up any time soon (the complete Harry Potter movie collection anyone?).
But probably the one thing I can't give up (and my husband semi-wishes I would) is my piano. I rarely play these days (for reasons it would take too long to get into), but the piano was my mother's, then mine. No one else in my family plays. I can't imagine letting it go to a stranger.
Hi Liz. Thanks so much! Those Harry Potter DVDs will be worth a fortune someday, when you can only find one of the films on all the streaming services...And how could you give up your mother's piano? That makes perfect sense to me, whether you play it much or not.
DeleteLiz, I still have my grandmother's piano and wouldn't dream of giving it up, even though I don't play. And who knows, maybe Wren will want to take piano lessons.
DeleteWendall - and it's a limited edition Blu-ray set with the British titles, so there's that, too.
DeleteDebs - I secretly hope that someday I'll have a grandchild I can pass it on to. Of course right now both kids swear they are never having children.
Laughing. We had the traveling piano for a while. We had a spinet when I was a kid and was "invited" to learn to play it. I didn't enjoy it and the lessons didn't take. Years later my middle sister got the piano; her kids didn't play it. My youngest sister then got it. She never took lessons. Then I got it. Moved it from Richardson TX to Faribault MN to Houston TX. And didn't play it. We finally gave it to the son of a friend. He is in a band and teaches music at school and gives lessons. It is well used!
DeleteLove the end to that story.
DeleteI'm a huge fan since you hit it out of the park with LOST LUGGAGE, Wendall! A hilarious page turner! Can't wait to get my hands on DROWNED UNDER.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love my old costume jewelry, too. It's the only way someone like me without pierced ears can find fun earrings. My mother never wore a piece of costume jewelry in her life, so all of mine has been acquired at flea markets and yard sales. I'm also attached to my old fashioned meat grinder. It gets hauled out on the rare occasion when I want to make a real pate. Food processor just turns meat to mush.
Thank you, as always, Hallie, for being such a generous supporter of my work from the beginning. I think I told you, but I leaned heavily on the worksheets and questions in your WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL for this book. It was a huge help. Yes there are still wonderful vintage clip-ons, I'm always on the lookout for them in antique stores and yard sales, too. And I wish I had a meat grinder. You're right, a food processor is not the same. But you kind of buried the lead on making your own pate. Holy cow (or goose)! Impressive indeed.
DeleteHi Wendall! *waving*. What a treat to meet up with you here this morning. I love Cyd Redondo's adventures and thanks to her, now, every time I visit a vintage store, I'm on the look out for my own version of a Balenciaga.
ReplyDeleteSo what do I hoard? I have a functional VCR and I have loads of my favorite movies on tape. I hoard books on crafting. Books on how to make books, knitting , polymer clay, sewing, you name it. And, to my shock and horror, on my last trip to my storage unit, I discovered that I have become the woman who hoards clothes that she will probably never be able to wear again unless she contracts some kind of wasting disease. *sigh*.
Congratulations on DROWNED UNDER. Have great day.
Hi Lyda! So great to see you here and thanks for the kind words. As above, I still have 800 videotapes ( in my defense, I do teach film...) and backup machines just in case. And I think any kind of how-to books, etc. have to be hard copy, so you can actually see the illustrations and instructions. I can't imagine trying to do that with a Kindle. I think clothes, like songs, remind us of what we were doing when we wore them, so even if they don't fit right now, I get hanging on to them just for what they evoke. My husband definitely disagrees, though...
ReplyDeleteClearly I'm going to have to seek out your books, Wendall, because I can always use a good, fun mystery to take me away from the not-so-good, not-so-fun grind of everyday life. As for the things I cling to or miss, I'd have to say that I miss maps. I love spreading out a good paper map or opening an atlas to see what's out there in the world, but I find my younger friends have no idea how to read a map. Last night I figured out why. I'm currently driving a rental car that has a map feature, except it has no detail, and it doesn't stick with the normal north/south orientation--it just always shows you traveling from the bottom to the top of the screen, no matter which way you are actually headed. As a person with no natural sense of direction, this is useless to me. I know where I am. I need to know where that is in relation to where I want to go!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Gigi,the books are highly silly, if that's what you need... And maps! I am with you. Aside from hating the idea of GPS, I can't bear backseat driving, especially from a machine. Plus, I love the way maps look and, per your comment, the way they orient you and let you see the bigger picture. I still have a road atlas from the 80's I used last time I did a long trip and it really cheered me up.
ReplyDeleteWell, these books look like fun. Gotta get them on the TBR list.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile... Seriously? Go-go boots? As worn by women dancing in cages? Tell me that was a typo. :^)
Well most of the stuff other people are sadly reminiscing about, I still have and use. Okay, except two SCM portable typewriters in my basement (one manual, one electric). Sigh. I LOVED those typewriters, but even I have to admit to moving on. (Though note, they're still in the house....)
Hi Susan - I admit, at an unenlightened age 8, go-go boots seemed like the pinnacle of coolness to me, but I see your point! Yes, it never feels as good to type on a keyboard as it did to push those real keys down, does it? Or the sound of the carriage going back. Sigh is right.
ReplyDeleteWe still use loose leaf tea in a blend my husband mixes.
ReplyDeleteI still write hand written thank you notes
And like Debs I have a brother in Tasmania , so I have to read this book!
Hi Rhys - It doesn't surprise me at all, having read your books, that you drink proper tea (my husband is English) and are lovely and gracious enough to hand write thank you notes. It's still so great to receive them. I wish I had known you and Deb had relatives in Tasmania, I would have bought them a beer/wine/coffee and picked their brains!
DeleteCongratulations, Wendall!!! I feel as if I’ve been waiting forever for your next book! Yay!!! I can’t wait to read Drowned Under! Emotional hoarding - hmmm. I’m a declutterer of the first order and I threw most of my emotional baggage off a plane without a parachute many years ago, but I do miss Sunday dinners, and televisions that turned to “snow” at midnight so the outside world shut down (no internet) and a body could get some rest.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn - thanks so much for the kind words and for having me! God, snow on the tv at night. That sound. And Sunday dinners, I was just talking to my Dad about those and how we've lost so much by losing them. Good for you for the declutter, though. As you can see from the comments, I'm wretched at it, but I admire it from below..
DeleteWendall, I'm happy to learn about your writing here. Looking forward to reading this series.
ReplyDeleteTasmania has an interesting history, originally known as Van Diemen's Land, after the Dutchman who bumped into the island in 1640-something. It's mentioned in a history of Australia published in the late 80's called The Fatal Shore. It's worth a read, if anyone is interested in learning more.
Oh, dear, now I know the name for my affliction: emotional hoarder. Yep, in a nutshell. I have massive piles of stuff I will likely never again look at in my entire life, but have not been able to pry loose. Unfortunately, my husband is exactly the same.
However, we both just read something, in AARP Magazine, of all places: don't be afraid to get rid of your parents' treasures. They would want you to be happy. That has a soothing message to us, as we get ready to leave a home where we've lived nearly 34 years.
About 7-8 years ago I ripped all my CDs and put them on an iPod/into iTunes. Apple stole a lot of them back from me, because I had not purchased them from Apple, which infuriates me (fine print, ugh). Luckily, I kept my CDs, and I can still rip them onto another device/computer program. I'm so glad I decided to keep them!
Hi Karen. Yes, Tasmania is fascinating and I've read The Fatal Shore - I would recommend it as well. It was wild to see how all the prisons and asylums have been re-purposed there. I've set one of my major sequences in one of them. I must have missed that article in AARP magazine and I'm astonished my husband didn't cut it out and put it on my desk! And I still keep all my CDs, even though I've burned them onto my computer, because computers crash and sometimes I need to know who wrote the song or played bass...
DeleteHanging in to things is a major problem for me, just ask my sister and nephew, they moved me 2 years ago. I think I have most everything listed by others. I did sell grandma's piano a couple of years ago. When I say no one played in piano in my family, I mean NO ONE. It was purchased for my uncle when he took piano lessons that lasted about 2 months. I did write a nice story about the piano's life when I sold it to former colleague, her daughter was taking piano lessons. But I kept all the sheet music that grandma had from the 40s and early 50s. The art is fabulous. I also have organ pipes from the church. And the little stamp our organist used when he would give away an organ pipe. Why he gave away a pipe before they took apart that one section, I don't know but do have his little stamp. It's amazing what is important, so much that touches that emotional spot so profoundly that you just can't let go and always regret when you do. Though I do not regret selling the piano. It needed to make music again and not take up limited interior wall space.
ReplyDeleteHi Deana -- I still have lots of sheet music from my family and you're right, it's great to have and look at for the art work, even if you don't play. I love your point about the piano needing to make music again, but I love that you have the organ pipes and stamp.
ReplyDeleteI'm still processing the fact that we (readers) are 'extinct' - according to some - seriously? Umm...no! Wendall, I read a great review of your new book on Monday over on my friend Cathy's blog. She is certainly singing all the praises and I already have your first book (sorry, unread as yet). Will definitely be getting to this one as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I keep? Well, I have my grandmother's wooden tea cart that was in her dining room and what's left of her 'Betsy Rose' dinnerware on the cart. There are very few pieces - just enough. I think of her every time I pass through my own dining room. Otherwise, I have several shelves of my old books from when I was a kid - mysteries and others as well. And I've sought out old copies of books by authors I loved as a teen - Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, Phyllis Whitney - can you tell I loved those old Gothics? I love seeing those on the shelf too. I hate to think that authors will be forgotten. I will admit that I've bought e-book copies of many of them because my eyes love being able to change the font on my Kindle. Oh, and I recently found that a book I loved in my 20's, a huge, huge story by Helen Hooven Santmyer has been released as an e-book. It's called AND LADIES OF THE CLUB and I was so delighted. I can look at my copy on the shelf and also take it with me on my Kindle. It's all good. Congrats on the new book - best wishes on your writing!
Hi Kay -- Lovely to meet you here and thanks for the kind words. I am so grateful to Cathy for her support of the series, she is a sweetheart. I love your list, especially the Gothics and thanks for the heads up on AND THE LADIES OF THE CLUB, which I also loved. I think having bits of furniture and dishware does make you think fondly of loved ones, so I love keeping at least a few of those things too. Thanks for buying Lost Luggage!
ReplyDeleteWendall, such a delight to have you here today! I'm going to start with Lost Luggage--even the description made me laugh out loud!
ReplyDeleteI hang on to books, obviously, and I am such a sucker for cookbooks. But my worst vice is dishes. Fortunately I have a butler's pantry to hold some of them and a big sort of Welsh dresser in the dining room to hold some more. Oh, and I still have CDs, and my hub and I both have boxes of old LPs in different closets.
Do you know, I don't think my family ever did Sunday dinners, but I still kind of miss them. It's such a nice idea. Although with our kiddos it's much more likely to be Wednesday night wine and cheese, and that's fine, too. I think we're all wanting to hang on to things that make us feel anchored...
Thanks so much for having me, Deb, it's always such a pleasure to get to hang with all of you and your readers. I totally get the dishes thing. I'm at my Dad's house right now and am eyeing a few things, wondering if he'd miss them... not really, but kind of. And I keep albums, books, CDs, etc. I do think it's more about the things that have emotional connotations rather than what the actual things are, most of the time.
DeleteWendall, I'm sure people started saying "books are dead" about a year after Gutenberg invented the moveable press. "Sure, his Bible was good, but the Psalter really went downhill. It'll never last."
ReplyDeleteI will say real paper letter are NOT dead - my son specifically asked for them while he's off on deployment. It makes me happy to think at least one more generation will have some memories they can hold in their hands!
Hahaha! Julia, I'm sure you're right about the naysayers - they've always been around! And I'm thrilled your son wants letters. I still write them and I want to do more. Saving emails just isn't the same.
DeleteI have to read your books! They sound so cool! We're trying to declutter and it is happening slowly. I tend to keep thankyou notes from people. I have all the letters my then boyfriend now husband wrote to me when he was in the Army, part of that time in Vietnam. I have the letters my son wrote me when he was in the Army in Iraq. I have a big collection of postcards I started when I was a kid. I haven't looked at it in years, but it is there! I think I swiped some of the postcards from Dad to Mom when he was in the Army in the Aleutians in WW2. We have so many souvenirs of travel laying around, plus too frickin' many my mother-in-law bought on her travels. She was a travel agent and supported the economies of every country she visited. A buddy of mine is almost ready to travel again. She and I went on a tour in India several years ago. She wants to visit Tasmania. I told her that was fine with me. Make it happen! I refuse to take the responsibility of planning another trip. So, if you have any helpful hints I will pass them on to her!
ReplyDeleteHi Pat! Yes, all those letters and cards are such wonderful things to have, in my opinion. And yes! Go to Tasmania! We took a Jetstar flight there from Melbourne (it's only an hour and not expensive) but of course you could cruise if you want. If you only have a short time a lot of the obvious things are great: MONA (the Museum of New and Old Art. Incredible!), The Salamanca Market, The Drunken Admiral Restaurant, The Battery (Errol Flynn was born up there!), the Cascade Brewery, the Botanic Gardens, Mount Wellington, etc. IF you have time to drive a bit, the whole island, from top to bottom, only takes about 3 or 4 hours and there's lots of jungle, waterfalls, mountains, etc. I have a lot of pictures, etc. on my author website if you want to check it out and my contact info is on my website(www.wendallthomas.com) if you want to contact me directly.
DeleteHi Wendall--What a great conversation, or confessional. I often say my husband is the King of Stuff, but alas, I am also an emotional hoarder. My sister and I, having nothing to display from our childhood, collected Madame Alexander dolls, the tall ones in pairs like Romeo and Juliet, or Scarlet, so I have over 100 of these pristine perfect dolls--even some little ones 8 inch like Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion. Sadly, their interior elastics broke, so their arms and legs are loose, and they stay in their blue boxes. I also have my Nana's crystal glasses from Sunday Dinner, which i use with dire warnings to be careful of their delicate rims.
ReplyDeleteSo glad these friends will have the fun of reading about Cyd on her two adventures so far. She's easy to love and to cheer for....
Annette! I had no idea you had this incredible doll collection. Wow. They must be incredible, elasticized or not.And crystal glasses - I love that kind of stuff, though am prone to breakage. xxx
DeleteWelcome Wendall!
ReplyDeleteSo good to see you here! I’ve read both Cyd Redondo books(on my Kindle), and in fact just finished Drowned Under yesterday. I urge everyone to read both books! I am now feeling at loose ends because I want MORE!
I’m in the process of getting rid of things and it’s not easy. I have lots of print books that I can’t part with. (I have hundreds of Kindle books, too, which makes me wonder if I’d even be able to walk through my tiny condo if all my books were print!) I’m getting rid of most reference books because most of them are outdated. I have nothing that my library will accept as donations. As for fiction, I keep everything written by the Reds and certain other favorite mystery authors. Other mysteries are going to the homebound Mystery-loving sister of a friend.
I’m going through boxes and file cabinets of papers, and shredding whatever I don’t need; then I will need to reorganize what’s left. Not looking forward to that but it needs to be done.
I have boxes of items that belonged to my youngest sister who died a little over two years ago, including lots of photo albums from her high school and college years. I can’t bring myself to get rid of her photo albums; they remind me of how active she was before being robbed by MS of her mobility and freedom.
I have three non-functioning computers, a toaster oven and a George Forman grill that both overheat, a stereo that no longer works...I could go on and on!
I have lots of cassettes but no working cassette player.
I guess I should get back to my decluttering project!
DebRo
Deborah -- How very kind of you to read the books. Thanks so much for your kind words. Yeah, the reference books are tough, as I love the old ones but you can't really use most of them anymore. So sorry to hear about your sister. How hard that must have been. I understand hanging onto all that stuff. In terms of the computers, maybe a toxic bonfire???? Believe or not, when my husband and I got married, we bought each other brand new Walkman cassette players and they are still safe in the boxes, just so we can play our old cassettes once in awhile. Thanks so much for writing.
DeleteThe lost art (literally) of the record album cover!
ReplyDeleteLibby! I so agree. I mostly keep the records now just for the covers.
DeleteIt's not completely lost. You should see the detail that goes into the artwork for Iron Maiden albums. The artist is Derek Riggs and he's been doing all the art for their albums, singles and I think the T-shirts too for decades.
DeleteOne of the music magazines I read has a monthly feature that talks about a classic album cover and the artist is interviewed about how it all came together.
I love that, Jay!
DeleteI have my music cassettes (turned that into a series of articles for a website), CDs and DVDS. I use a flip phone. I only read books that I can hold in my hand.
ReplyDeleteI still have VCRs too. Oh and I have one rotary phone still as well.
I keep the bookmarks I get from all the authors I meet...until they fall apart from use.
Jay, you are my kind of person! I had a flip phone until three months ago, when my car was totaled and I had to get a smart phone to use Uber. I hate it. I love that you have all that stuff -- keep fighting the good fight!
ReplyDeleteThe only way I upgrade from a cassette that I already own is if it wears out. So I will have them for a long time I'd say.
DeleteThey're pretty indestructible if you keep them out of the sun...
DeleteWendall, I love this post so much--and I double-love that you included cassette mix tapes, manners, and the Oxford comma on your disappearing and endangered list.
ReplyDeleteMy own list includes pantyhose (in "suntan" and preferably from an egg-shaped container), which I realize is a less-than-popular thing for which to pine, and conversations that are not interrupted by cellphones. We're a phone-free-dinner family, and I'm considering expanding the no-phone zone.
Warmest congrats on the new book. I am huge a fan of Cyd--and YOU!
Kathy -- So great to see you here and I'm with you on the L'EGGS suntan hose! Thanks so much for the kind words and sending fondest to you. Your book is next on my list!
Deletexoxo! Hope to see you in person soon.
DeleteI am so with you on the Oxford comma!
DeleteSince I live in my childhood home, I have a lot of stuff like furniture made by my mother's uncle, jewelry and knickknacks from vacation trips, record albums and books. My mother gave a pin to the lady who did the flowers for her wedding, and that lady gave it to me many years ago. I do try to redd out but as long as I can stay in my house, I'll probably keep most of my stuff. Let someone who doesn't care clean things out!
ReplyDeleteWith you, Sally. Why would you get rid of things unless you want to/have to. Thanks so much for commenting.
DeleteCongrats on your new book, Wendall!
ReplyDeleteOther than books, I still have DVDs. But I still watch them & my DVD player still works, so why should I replace them with digital files?
Hi Jana, thanks so much. I agree, keep them. I work in the film business and I know it will get harder and harder to find certain titles or they won't be streaming when you want to watch them, so I'm holding on tightly to mine!
DeleteOh, SO late! Ahhh.... But love you madly. Disappearing things. Hmm. Every single lipstick color that ever worked for me. And Neutrogena soap with fragrance. Hmm. Yes, VHS tapes. Our basement is a museum of them. YAY and love you!
ReplyDeleteAnd we have a lot of DVDs--but, um, nowhere to play them.
ReplyDeleteHank! I am so with you on lipstick (and nail polish) colors. I have fridge drawer devoted to discontinued ones. And if you ever want to get rid of your VHS tapes, let me know...
ReplyDeleteAnd if you really want to play the DVDs, there are tons of working players at any Goodwill for 5$. Believe me, I know. Thanks so much for having me as ever. xxx
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