IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

I went to bed at somewhere around 12 AM this morning and I woke up at 3 AM with some ideas in my mind that I had to get on paper before I forgot them.  I jotted down enough to remind me what they were and tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t, so I wound up writing a poem about the ideas.  I still could not get back to sleep, so I made my copies of the poem  and the essay I had decided to bring to journal writing, made a cup of coffee, ate a scrambled egg and called my friend and talked to him.  Then I got tired again, so I laid back down for an hour and a half till I had to get ready to go downtown to the writing groups.

 

It was interesting that yesterday I was thinking I might not even go, because I had nothing new to share, and if you read my account I said I would need to write something soon.  Little did I know it would be that soon!  I also thought of what I wanted to share with the journal writers.  It was not a new essay, but of all of the choices that was the one that came to my mind this morning.  Then I knew I had to go to the meetings.

 

After the groups ended their meeting I found out that there was going to be a book launch party at the Cultural Center tonight.  I called the phone number on the card I was given by the person at the information desk and asked if I could still come even though I had not made a reservation and they did say to RSVP.  The lady that answered my call said I could and took my name.  This was something I had not planned on doing today.  I asked the lady at the desk about a movie screening the sign said was being held but she did not have information on that and told me about the other event.

 

As a writer I felt that it was more useful for me to be there to encourage this young (27 year old) Pakistani-American who had just written his first novel, Mea Culpa.  His name is Farhan Noorani and although he was born in Pakistan, his family came here when he was a baby, so he is almost a first generation American.  The book is "a business thriller novel" according to the card and sounds very interesting.  I liked the portion he read and what he shared about how he concentrated on the characters and their interactions with one another that make them who they are.  It sounds like my kind of book.  I did not feel like I could afford to buy it though tonight.

 

Ravi Baichwal, from channel 7 news MC’d the event and Secretary of State Jesse White was there.  He posed for many pictures and took a number of books he said he will make sure get into libraries because he is head of the state’s libraries, so I will be looking for the book soon.

 

The card about the party said "complimentary refreshments will be served" (another reason I stayed).  I thought that meant cake and cookies or some light little snack but they put out a complete buffet with Mexican food, fried chicken and traditional Pakistani foods.  I took that because it was new to me.  One bean dish was very hot (spicy) though and i did not finish that.  The rest was good and they had a nice mixed fruit salad, pudding and cookies and then brought out a cake for dessert.  It was a nice evening I was glad I attended and if I had not gone to the writing meetings this morning, I would have missed it..