October 23, 2010 – Rainy. Going to Dorset to pick up some “Judy” and autumn notecards (and some donkey cards for Maria). On the book tour, I was struck by:
– the warmth of people.
– the energy and vibrance of bookstores, publishing and story-telling. Reading is alive and well.
– the reach and scope of bedlamfarm.com and the energy and connectivity of Facebook.
– the value of reaching out to new audiences on a book tour, going beyond studios and bookstores to book clubs, libraries and homes.
– the necessity to fight for your identify, always, not in a spirit of combat but of affirmation.
Had some interesting discussions and thoughts on health care, prompted by my friend Dr. Debra Katz’s exhorations to get checked up regularly so that I might head off any developing troubles or conditions. I am coming to clarity on this issue. I do believe in doctors and in medicine, much of which is wonderful. I pay attention to my health, to what I eat, the activities I engage in, and how I feel. She and I are still talking about this, and I don’t want to bother her this weekend, as she is writing the preface to my book on grieving for animals, “Going Home: Finding Peace When Animals Die,” due out next year.
I do not wish a life prolonged by medications, procedures and tests. I believe that health care is being corrupted by money, liability issues and politics. Doctors are no longer free to practice medicine as they might wish, and as I might wish them to. Quality of life is important to me. I want to take control of the process of ageing and death, not surrender it to insurance companies and the things doctors have to do to keep from getting sued. Hospice work has taught me a lot about this and I will write about it more.
Book tour resumes Tuesday in South Hadley, Mass. Talk (no books or signing) at the South Hadley Public Library, 3 p.m. Library Director Joe Rodio will be taping and asking some questions as will, hopefully, some readers and book lovers. This is an experiment to broaden the idea of a book tour and we’ll see how it works. Tuesday night, 7 p.m. a talk and signing at Odyssey Books, Hadley, Mass. I’m not bringing Izzy or any other dogs.