A rumbled bumble & Lark books donated to the smallest of readers

Sept. 17, 2024 — I set up an author table for the Rumble of the Bumble in Ypsilanti, Saturday, Sept 7.  I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend, Peggy Brody, and her cavapoo puppy, Astro, waiting for us. They hung out at my table with me the entire three hours, aside from the time they took to pick up her lunch and coffees for us. Astro has his own little stroller. He’s a really sweet little guy, he’s black and white, and gives smooches freely.

I met Peggy when she hired me to work in the Marketing and Communications office (can’t recall the exact dept name) at the Detroit-Macomb Hospital Corporation. She lives in Ann Arbor and we’ve kept in touch with lunches and other social events. Peggy is the communications coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her husband, Mark, is in two bands and we’ve attended some of their gigs. They’re really talented and play mostly originals and some covers. Most recently, we went to a show at the North Star Lounge where their band, Turner Luce, jammed the night away. It was on Peggy’s birthday and their daughter, Marin Scott, was in town. I’ve known her since she was a tyke. Now she’s working with digital media (consumer generated content, known as CGC) for NBC Network News to verify authenticity, such as location, before they air anything. An important role and I think it’s good for people to know about the fact checking that goes on behind the scenes at reputable news organizations.

In a short Facebook conversation (comments on a post) I had with someone from my high school, I mentioned legit media sources, and he said he’d like to know which ones I think are legit, or something like that. I never took the time to reply, (it was a political difference of opinion and not worth my time or energy) but I want to share this link that I think is helpful and interesting. It’s a non-partisan scale of where various media falls on the political spectrum from AllSides (This chart does not rate accuracy or credibility. A publication can be accurate, yet biased. Learn why AllSides doesn’t rate accuracy.). 

I didn’t want to stay the entire 10 (!) hours of the Rumble and asked if I could do a few hours instead. The schedule worked better for me to be set up in the plaza area, next to the child entrepreneurs area. When a pediatric nurse was on her way to get money, she said she would be back to buy “a few” for her office, which was exciting. So when she bought one, I was a little disappointed. She said they’d call me if they needed more. But, I was grateful for my first (turned out to be only) sale at this point! 

Having company was nice and it was a good chance to catch up with each other. Afterward, Tim pulled the car up. We broke the table and chairs down and met Peggy and Astro for dinner at Sidetracks. If you’re not from the area, the restaurant is literally on the side of the railroad tracks. Guests are often treated to a blaring whistle and a train streaking past. Hot tip if you have a dog and are in the area, Sidetracks has a special doggie plate that can be ordered. Astro loved his hamburger patty. Not so much the wild rice. 

As noted in a previous blog post, Tim and I started to volunteer in the spring of this year in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital. Their annual Book Read-a-thon kicked off last week. The event coordinator requested a donation of 60 of my books (one for each room/baby), which I was happy and honored to do. So, Tim and I walked around the unit with other staff/volunteers, to distribute their gift book for the day — my book, arranged to coincide with our shift. One staff person was dressed up in a full Cat in the Hat costume. She was feeling warm in the full extra layer and a really good sport. Others wore the cat hat or headbands with Cat in the Hat things, like Thing 1 and Thing 2 doodads. 

It was gratifying to be able to hand the book to some of the parents who were there and introduce myself with a casual, “I just happen to be the author.” I told them I had signed the book for them and their baby. They were appreciative and excited — a mutual feeling. 

In an earlier post, I talked about how we chose to volunteer in the NICU. A brief recap, our youngest son spent his first month in a San Antonio, TX NICU. Since then, we often thought that “someday” we’d like to volunteer in a NICU, knowing what a difficult time it is for the parents and their babies and thinking we’d like to help them in some small way. Well, it’s that “someday.” 

Others in our group last week were helping hand out donated books (the family receives a gift book each day of the 11-day event). It was a nice sight as I walked past one of the rooms to see a father on the couch flipping my book open. Not the scene I imagine many authors have the privilege to see, so it was pretty cool. 

Okay peeps, on Thursday of this week I will be at Adventure, Ink, Milan, Michigan for book signing from 5 - 8 p.m. I’m sharing Third Thursday with Don and Alex Hicks, a father and son author duo of Frankenwalnut. I’m excited to discover more about the scary-sounding nut. It seems like something I’d like, since I loved “Frankenweenie” so much. Remember the movie? As we enter the fall/Halloween-is-coming season, “Frankenweenie” would be a good movie to watch. My other spooky season recommendation, especially if you haven’t seen it yet, is the series “Wednesday” on Netflix. Quirky, a little spooky, funny, nostalgic (it’s based on the “Addams Family”), great characters and chemistry. It will leave you wanting more but we have to wait until 2025. We just rewatched season one. We saw “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Friday night. It was really fun. Our movie chairs moved, vibrated and rumbled! I didn’t realize I’d selected these wild seats. Coincidentally, the actor who played Wednesday, Jenna Ortega, had a main role in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Seems there are surprises around many corners. 

Just maybe I will receive some surprise messages through my website with the activity that you or your children did, a note about your favorite page in How Happy Is a Lark?, a question or a comment. Surprise me! 

Hope to see you in Milan! 

Images on this page courtesy Peggy Brody and the UM NICU. Featured photo and bottom photo, my own.