Reflections from another week on the road

August 2nd, 2006 → 9:49 am @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments

The second (and final) week (and a half) of the 2006 New England Monster Tour included one Portland Sea Dogs game, one David Ortiz walk-off hit, two Red Sox games, one hotel, one bed and breakfast, six readings, seven nights at my parents house, and another 450 miles in what became an increasingly horrid Hertz rental car. Some observations:

* It is very hot outside.
* In the summer, New York City is truly the city of funky smells.
* I was in a Ford Fusion, not a Ford Focus.
* Ford Fusions are horrible cars.
* My cousin Jahsiah is unspeakably cute.
* People in New England like reading about the Red Sox; so, apparently, do people in the rest of the country.
* There is an older gentleman who frequents Boston’s Downtown Crossing Borders who sits in the front row at readings while thumbing through tour books of Ireland. He also stands up in the middle of readings, walks directly behind the person reading, and re-stocks said book. This has nothing to do with the quality of the reading, and the reader should not be offended. Or so they tell me.
* My three favorite meals from two weeks on the road: the burgers at Fat Boy’s Drive In in Brunswick, the wood-oven roasted mussles at Fore Street in Portland, and the lobster bake (2.5-lb lobster, mussels, steamers, and clam chowder) at the Chestnut Hill Legal Sea Foods.
* There are people who still remember (and make fun of) the shirt.
* The complete absence of traffic lights on Martha’s Vineyard is not quaint, it is moronic.
* Bed and breakfasts are, on occasion, pleasant and enjoyable. Eating breakfast with strangers is never anything but awkward and uncomfortable.
* I wish I saw more of the Coltons.
* I wish I saw more of the West Coast Mnookins (and the D.C.-based Browns).
* When men can comb the hair on the back of their necks, they should make sure their barbers shave it off. Especially if their seats are in front of mine at Fenway.
* Sometimes, I make mistakes.

That about wraps it up. Tonight the Union Square Barnes & Noble will host the last stop on the Northeast leg of the Monster Tour; I’ll be in Florida next week (because what could be more fun than Florida in August?), and popping up at assorted locales throughout the fall. If you want to be kept up to date, sign up for the Monster Newsletter. And stay cool out there. But not so cool that you contribute to a massive strain on the energy grid and help cause a blackout.

Post Categories: Feeding the Monster Readings