Totally OT: An embarrassing admission...

[MovieStuff]

Life on the road.

My most recent book signing was at the Hastings in Sequin, Texas; hardly the cultural mecca of the civilized world but a nice, little town. This particular Hastings was more like a Blockbuster video store with a small corner section of books for those that could be bothered to read. No coffee shop, no lattes, no WiFi. So while the customers seemed not the literary types, I still attempted to beckon them to my table with pleasantries such as "Hi, howya doin'? Like science fiction?", etc. Very original, I know, but I might as well have been signing books in a grocery store bread aisle.

Anyway, after about an hour or so of this, I was beginning to give up as the customer base began to drop in caliber by the moment, the last of which appeared to be a scruffy, older black woman in her early 60's accompanied by her 20-something daughter dressed in what could best be described as "Nouveau Crack Whore", replete with frayed hair pulled back by a rubber band and home made tattoos that were only outnumbered by scars running up and down the length of her arm. A jutting jawline and bad teeth only completed the look. I made the conscious decision not to beckon them to my area. They past me by and I sat there posting my moment by moment lack of progress on Facebook via my iPhone.

Moments later, a quite clear and intelligent voice from my blind side asked about the ISBN number on my book and how hard was it to get. I turned and it was the young black woman. To my surprise, she was articulate, college-smart and sharp as a tack. She said she wrote poetry and was looking to get her work published. We talked for about 15 minutes and it was quite apparent that she valued education, was very self aware and quite determined to leave behind what was an obviously rugged life. I would love to sample her writings because you could bet the bank that it smacked of a hard, honest reality that most of us could only imagine. She took one of my cards and thanked me for my time. She didn't buy a copy of my book since she didn't read fiction, preferring to spend her limited income on history and biographies. She left and I sat there for the rest of my non-book-signing session, reflecting on my shame at judging people so quickly, which is something that I chide others about frequently.

I packed up my stuff and, over the two hour drive back to Utopia, reconciled my pride to a very humbling experience. I felt bad, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. It was a tacit reminder that we are all made from the same cloth, just with different weaves and patterns. I shall give more credence to the apparent crack whores in my life's path, from now on.

Roger

[etimh]

Great story, Roger. Thanks for sharing.

Tim

[BAC]

Ok, I'll say it.

"You can't judge a book by it's cover."

[Scotness]

Roger good post mate - but as soon as I read she saves her limited income for history and biographies I thought you'll be seeing her again - if not directly personally - through the media ..> her mind is obviously wide open and awake.

Scot

[CHAS]

Wow, what an amazing story. I'm at a loss...it would be interesting to read some of her work.

[super8man]

That darn younger generation always pushing the envelope of dress codes!

Good story Roger. My take is not that stereotypes are bad but they can often be incorrect. You can't go through life not stereotyping to some degree. It just doesn't happen. But I think you made the right choice in being open to engaging people that are outwardly different. Your private thoughts are just that, private. Thankfully we are not in a "Slan" world yet. Our thoughts allow us to run scenarios, fantasies, what ifs, dreams, etc. But, in the end, it's our actions that count. Treat people as we would like to be treated ourselves is about all we can do. It takes practice though! Luckily, we have a lifetime to get it right.

Good story and a memorable one at that.

Cheers,
Mike