New Year's Resolutions

What have I been up to, you've probably been thinking, if you read my blog regularly. (Does anyone read my blog regularly?) Well, I haven't been writing it regularly for the past month or so, that's for sure. The holidays are a busy time, I guess (that picture is me waking up from my short winter's nap, so you can see I've been so busy I plumb wore myself out). But now it's the new year, and I've resolved to post things more often on my blog. We'll see how that works out. I've been thinking about New Year's resolutions because we recently put in a display at the Covedale Branch Library about just that topic. Apparently, the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions began with the Babylonians, who resolved to start the New Year with a clean state by returning borrowed farm equipment. There’s a resolution everyone can make and keep—return all borrowed farm equipment by the end of January. As for me, I've resolved to keep up with my Curmudgeon column as well as my blog (I've written a couple of new Curmudgeons in the past couple of days) and I will resolve to finish the model of the Price Hill Incline I've been working on for awhile. It's looking pretty good, and I'm hoping to get it installed upstairs at the Price Hill Historical Society Museum before the year is over. Mark Twain once said that New Year’s Day is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions, then a week later, you can begin paving hell with them as usual. He may be right.

Some Thoughts on Scary Days

It's been awhile since I've added anything new to the blog, and I'm sorry about that. It's a little late to discuss one of my favorite holidays, Halloween, but I had a good one. I've been out of town visiting my daughter and her son, who dressed as a zombie rapper for Halloween. I'm not even sure what that means, but he seemed happy and impressively undead, so as far as I'm concerned, he got into the spirit of the holiday. The almost-full moon added to the fun on Halloween night, too. But I'd also like to talk about another sometimes scary day, Election Day. I know I get downright curmudgeonly when it comes to dealing with dozens of those robo-calls from candidates and both sides of the issues on the ballot. I thought it wouldn't be so bad this year, since it's only local elections around here, but the calls and junk mail have still been relentless. I'll bet my answering machine is filled with competing calls when I get home from out of town. The only issue I'm really concerned about is one that will pass a levy to support our local library system, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. As an author, I support my local libraries, because you can get my book there. They even let me have a book signing at the Covedale Library. And, as a reader, I support libraries everywhere. I hope you will too, but in any event, I encourage you to vote tomorrow, even if it is a little scary.

On the Air with the Old Curmudgeon

We found out the other day that the Old Curmudgeon interview on WKRC, Channel 12, the CBS affiliate in Cincinnati, has garnered the 7:30 slot on the local news show this coming Saturday morning, September 26. That’s a little early in the morning on a Saturday for most people, but I suspect there will be viewers in my age cohort. The studio is located high above Cincinnati in Mt. Auburn, so if the skies clear, I can watch the sun rise over the next ridge, Mt. Adams, while waiting to go on the air. I recorded an interview on WVXU, 91.7, an NPR-affiliated local news radio station, about a month ago, though that one won’t air until October 11. I believe this television interview is live, and when we wrap that up (as they say), it’s off to the Covedale Library for my first official book signing. So, if you’re up early and not doing anything Saturday morning, turn on Channel 12 with your morning coffee, then come up to the Covedale Library to make it look like a crowd has turned out. (Sometimes they have snacks, too.)

The Book Tour (Such As It Is)

Now that The Collected Old Curmudgeon has hit the bookstores, I’ve got a book tour scheduled. That’s right, I start at WKRC television studios in beautiful Mt. Auburn, early on the morning of Saturday, September 26, for a spot on their local happenings show. Not sure if we have the 6:15 or 7:15 am slot, but in either event, I’ll be up early. Then, at 10:00 am the same morning, I’m scheduled to appear at the Covedale Library in Price Hill, where I’ll be signing books until 11:30 am. And the following Saturday, October 3, I’ll be at Findlay Market downtown, which is a great place to go even when I’m not there. But I will be there, signing books again—this time with Jerry Dowling, who will also be signing his Edgecliff Press book, Drawing Pete. That will be from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Finally, I’ll be at the Price Hill Historical Society & Museum on Wednesday, October 7, at 7:00 pm as the speaker for the regular monthly meeting. I’ll show a presentation from the Delhi Historical Society on our local bootlegging legend, George Remus, and I’d be happy to sign books—as well as answer questions—after the presentation. There’s so many stories about Remus, I can tell tales all night. That’s it—that’s the grand 2009 Old Curmudgeon book tour. (At least I don’t have to take off my shoes at the airport.) I think there are more details of all the book tour events at my Web site. If not, let me know and I'll have my people get right on it.