So, I'm bascially being plagued by great weather wherever I go. It's awful. Yesterday in Denver, it was an unseasonably high 80 degrees, with not a cloud in the sky, Not exactly prime weather for people to say, "You know, I can't think of a better way to spend my afternoon than indoors, listening to that wacky guy who drove his grease-powered car across the country." Well all you sun worshippers, you missed a great talk at the Tattered Cover in Denver. Maybe my best yet. Feeling guilty now?
The Tattered Cover, by the way, is amazing. It's huge--housed in Denver's former, ancient Mercantile building, which used to supply goods to all of the settlers and towns in the Front Range. Definitely one of the country's best book stores. At the start of the talk, there were three people sitting in the audience. But after a few minutes, a bunch of others started filtering in. At most of my talks, it's clear that the people in attendance knew something about the book beforehand. Not in this case. When I was finished, I asked a few of the people why they decided to come for the talk. "We were waiting in line to see Chelsea," one of them said. "And some woman told us to come in here, because we'd enjoy listening to you."
Apparently, comedian Chelsea Handler was going to be in the store later in the day, signing her book, "Are you there Vodka? It's me Chelsea." But to be able to see her, you had to wait in line for tickets (because the demand was expected to be so great). Oh the irony! So the woman at the Tattered Cover in charge of the Chelsea event was encouraging the people in line to hear me. Heck, I didn't care why they were there, as long as I could spread the word, and hopefully entertain them. A lot of them bought "Greasy Rider" at the end, and a few took their picture with me, so I figure the event was successful enough. (Although I do have to admit that I now hate Chelsea Handler, whoever she is, because of the massive crowds she attracts and number of books she must sell.)
Hopefully I didn't let the tattered cover down. They were nice folks, who had kind things to say about "Greasy Rider."
The Tattered Cover's efforts on the environment: They've put together a reading series at the store, in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Land Library, dedicated to the Western landscape. It's called the Rocky Mountain Land Series. Authors like Steven Trimble, who wrote the book "Bargaining for Eden," and Audrey DeLella Benedict, author of "The Naturalist's Guide to the Southern Rockies," are among the participants. The next event is Saturday, October 25, when John Thiem and Deborah Dimon will discuss their book, "Rabbit Creek Country: Three ranching lives in the heart of the Mountain West."
