News from over the ocean

Sometimes I mention “the Aging Hippie” to you, don’t I? I met her on a peace demo in San Francisco on my very first trip there, just like Fran Suskind (in BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT I LOVED YOU) made a friend on a peace demo.

The Aging Hippie lives in Redwood City and goes to a book group which has meetings on a Sunday. They have a shared lunch at someone’s house, and the food they take has to be mentioned in the book or it has to be from the culture in the book.

Several years ago they read Plotting for Beginners and I went along and talked about it and they all brought English food: the offering that amused me most was Heinz tinned spaghetti, because that is what Gus in PfB adores.

Yesterday they discussed BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT I LOVED YOU, and the Aging Hippie, under strict instructions from me to remember and report EVERTHING, has emailed to say this…

“First, food: I made the potato leek soup, at your suggestion, and it was good, especially since it is a cold and rainy day. Mary said she was hoping someone would do that.

“Pam's addition was the best, of course, in terms of relating to the book. She brought

1 – Sol. i.e. dates that she stuffed with peanut butter. It was crusty and sweet on the outside and totally nuts on the inside. It was coated with sugar because Fran has to sugar coat much of her life in living with him. It is put on a plain white plate because who needs fancy chinaware?

2 – Fran. Sliced pink lady apples for socialist communist leanings. They were in a pretty bowl with decorations of lovely countryside on the rim.

Irene brought cooked carrots.

Jeanne brought cauliflower curry with lots of veggies from the back of the refrigerator.

The other foods were not related to the book but were equally delicious.

Second, the book: everyone liked it and enjoyed it. Discussion of the characters, especially Sol, led to a long discussion of Asperger's, the autism spectrum, and then, to what men are "normally" like anyway (much like Sol).”

AH wrote more, some of which I couldn’t report here without permission, so I’m going to leave it at that. There were some criticisms of the book, but as they relate to particular plot points, I can’t report them without spoiling it for someone who hasn’t yet read the book – and there may be one or two people reading my blog who haven’t read the book! (and I do still have hopes.)

Today I am preparing the house to receive important guests – my family from California – who arrive tomorrow. (Yipppeeee!) One urgent task is to make the sitting room 18-month-old–proof, so that this little person doesn’t have any unfortunate accidents.