Every book experience is different. Some book events are work, some businesslike. Some talks are empty, some are crowded. Sometimes there are no questions, sometimes a lot.
This weekend, Maria and I went to Bucks County, Pa. in support of two of my passions – working animals and therapy dogs. I was invited by Deborah Glessner, a friend and a co-founder (along with Wendi Huttner) of Nor’wester Readers, a therapy dog organization that helps children read. A good cause all around.
Debbie is retired school librarian and a dynamo when it comes to photography, animals and the work of therapy dogs.
Maria and I went to Bucks County on Saturday and came home today. On Sunday I gave a talk to about 150 people it was held in a middle school auditorium that seats 300, and then on Sunday night, about 15 or so people paid to have dinner with me. It was an affirming day for me, my favorite kind of book talk – I spoke for awhile, there were many great questions and compelling and heartfelt conversation about the future of animals, the meaning of animal rights, the ways in which animals communicate with one another and with people.
One very thoughtful young woman asked me about the idea of Personhood for animals, something that would protect animals from the arbitrary decisions of unknowing human beings. I hadn’t thought about it, but I will.
I have begun talking about my next book “Talking To Animals,” and honing the ideas in front of people who are intensely interested in the subject. I’m getting very excited about the book. We also talked quite a bit about the plight of the New York Carriage Horses, the carriage trade there is trying to fend off an effort by the mayor of New York and various animal rights organizations to ground them because they believe work for animals is exploitive, immoral and abusive.
There are lots of horse lovers out there, and most, if not all, are rooting for the carriage horses. They understand the power of humans and animals working together.
I signed a lot of books after the talk.
The dinner was very special as well, we talked in an intimate and comfortable setting – an old inn in Yardley, Pa., for several hours Sunday night. After dinner, we just talked to one another, a beautiful and rare thing for a writer to experience with readers. It was comfortable and engaging, stimulating as well. I learned a lot.
I am very happy to see that Maria now plays a key part in these conversations, she has as much to say as I do, and we keep honing ourselves as a team. People are very interested in her and her work and she has a lot to say about it, and has gotten comfortable saying it. Sometimes I look at her, and am jolted – not surprised – once more by how interesting she is. A great thing for me to see.
It was a successful weekend, a good affirmation of writing. It is also a great gift for any writer to be appreciated in that way. I am not a big deal, but I felt like one. That doesn’t happen often around my farm, in my small but magical world. I also learn when I travel what the blog means to people.
People said nice things about my books and the blog and were interested in my ideas about animals. I don’t imagine they all agreed with me, and it doesn’t matter to me, it’s the conversation and thought that is precious. If I can get people to think, I am worth something as a writer.
One guest found my work when she pulled one of my books out of the trash, we laughed about that. Some followed the blog, but had never read a book, some read my books but had never seen the blog. I told a bunch of stories about life on the farm, Maria and I talked about blogging and our life with animals. We offered some stories and got some good ones back. I see that the blog is as important as the books, if not more so, I could not have imagined that when I started it in 2007. People follow it closely, they often remember my life in greater detail than I do.
The work of the Nor’wester Therapy group is profound. They are using well-trained therapy dogs to help children read in many different ways. Wendi and Debbie are great animal lovers, and are committed to using animals to help children. They work very hard and need support.
Their work is successful, much appreciated and widely praised, it was a pleasure for us to go to Bucks County in support of them. As always, it was shocking for me to see the intense development of an area I once visited as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Most of the open space there is gone, big houses are lined up on top of one another for miles and miles.
Maria and I were invited to stay at Debbie’s home, and we spent a lot of time cuddling with her two sweet Labs, Heidi and Hannah. We missed Lenore, we need to get another dog in our lives.
As much as Maria and I loved the trip, as well-treated as we were, as much fun as we had, we were both so happy to come home and see the hills of our beautiful county – Washington County, N.Y., when we came over the hills an hour or so from Albany – the old barns, the farms, the sense of space and the very profound connection to nature. On the way in, we passed pigs, cows, bulls, sheep and gorgeous old barns, framed against rolling hills.
We pulled into the driveway and were greeted by the joyous brays of Lulu and Fanny. It was great to be in Bucks County, it is great to be home.
Before we unpacked, we chopped ice, drew water, brought out hay, got the side outdoor faucet working (the frost-free is still frozen) so we won’t have to carry buckets as far. Maria worked on her string chair, then brushed the donkeys, I worked with Red and the sheep in the snow (it is getting low enough) and I dug a channel so the water building up in the pasture might drain a bit – we are awash in mud and manure. We counted our many blessings. I would encourage anyone who loves dogs or other animals to check out the work of the Nor’wester Readers, it will touch your hearts, remind you of the sacred nature of animals working with people, and inspire you over the good that so many people do.
How humbling that I was asked to help out, it was so good to be a writer this weekend, to share the experience with my wife, and to be among so many warm and committed human beings.
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Next weekend, Maria, me and Red are going to Connecticut in continuation of the “Saving Simon” book tour. On Saturday I’ll be speaking at the Russell Library in Middletown, Conn. (2 p.m., 3/21) and Sunday at the Cheshire Public Library in Cheshire, Conn., also at 2 p.m.