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Ohio's Homegrown Hero, John Glenn

9/28/2023

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If there is one thing I've learned in my years on this planet, it's that the happiest and most fulfilled people I've known are those who devoted themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own self interest."
John Glenn​
In the Beginning ..... John Herschel Glenn, Jr., witnessed a lot of changes in the world during his lifetime.  It's truly hard to imagine all of the changes that can happen in about one hundred years. You see, Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio, on July 18, 1921.  If you lived back then, your home would not have had a toaster (wait three months, it was invented October 1921), television (1927, but not in homes till the 1950s and 60s), washing machine and dryer (1930s), room air conditioners (1931), microwave oven (1945), transistor radio (1955), counter-top microwave (1967), Nintendo (1983), laptop (the 1990s), smart phone (2003), and the list goes on and on and on.  Of course, if you lived in a rural area, most likely you would not have had electricity back then either (the 1930s - 1950s) so none of these inventions would have mattered.  And people, including John Glenn, survived without all of that.

Back in Cambridge, and then a little later in New Concord, Ohio, Glenn grew up with the nickname Bud.  And, Bud loved a couple of things.  He loved airplanes, real ones as well as making models of them.  (The Wright brothers flew their airplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903.)  Glenn turned eight the month that Port Columbus Airport opened in July of 1929.  Whenever the family traveled from New Concord to the big city, the trip was not complete without a trip to the airport.

The other thing that Glenn fell in love with at an early age was Annie.  The same year that his family moved to New Concord, Annie's family moved there as well. The families became friends and the kids literally shared a playpen.  Through grade school crushes, to going steady in eighth grade, to playing together in the school band, Glenn said, “There’s never been a time in our lives when we didn’t know each other.  Everything we’ve been through, we’ve been through together."  Long before Beyonce sang about it (or was even born) Glenn knew he needed to put a ring on it.  He married his childhood sweetheart, Anna Margaret Castor, on April 6, 1943, and kept that ring on her for over seventy years.
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What may or may not be lurking in your kitchen pantry
Picture(in a circle) My future rocking chair, stove-top cooking 1940s style, empty milk bottles, shaving and slitting in the bathroom, and coal for home heating
The John and Annie Glenn Museum ..... If you truly want to get a taste of Glenn's life in Ohio, and you should if you are anywhere close to it, you must visit the Glenn home in New Concord.  The house has been moved twice over the years, but the museum is now established on Main Street in New Concord, and it's truly a jewel and a step back in time.

The basement/entrance contains a gift shop and theater for an introduction video about New Concord's favorite son.  The real treasure is on the main floor of the house.  It was the best tour I've ever had anywhere at any location -- and I've had a lot of excellent tours.  A great guide maintains enthusiasm and interest no matter how many times they repeat their presentation on a given day or over the course of their employment.   But, on the main floor of the Glenn home, you are greeted by Cora Glenn, John Glenn's mother.  The guide/actress we met completely inhabited the roll as she shared about daily life in the United States during wartime-rationing and support of the troops overseas in the 1940s.  The tour included actual furniture and photographs from the Glenn home.  My favorite piece was an antique rocker, used to rock baby John, with a secret sewing compartment hidden under the seat.  (I want one for my home and I don't even sew!)  Also of interest were the Glenn's wedding clothes, an old candlestick phone, S&H green stamps, and products used in the kitchen and bathroom that have disappeared over the years from everyone's pantry and medicine cabinet.  

Rationing was shocking to imagine.  Sugar was extremely limited during World War II.  Civilians were limited to six teaspoons a day!  Gasoline was limited to three gallons a week.  On a weekly basis, civilians also looked forward to one egg, two ounces of butter, and four ounces of bacon.  Surprisingly, chocolate was not rationed.  Naturally, many people sent bars of chocolate to their servicemen in Asia.   You can probably guess what happened to the candy bars in the tropical heat, long before any soldier opened the package.  Some kind of chocolate treat was needed that "melts in your mouth, not in your hand."  That should be enough to tell you why M&Ms became such a success with the American troops.  

Life was extremely frugal at this time.  The main form of communication was radio.  It's how people learned the news from around the world (in addition to possibly listening in on 
telephone party-line).  However, people didn't use the radio all day long, no matter how much they may have wanted to.  If a tube in the radio wore out, there were no replacement parts available.  So, everything, had to be conserved in those days, every day.

John Glenn once said that he and his wife lived one third of US history. That part of their history can be viewed in their restored home on Main Street, New Concord.

A Day to Remember, a Turn of Events ..... Both of the Glenns attended Muskingham College (now University) in New Concord.  If life had gone according to plan, there was a good chance that they would have stayed in that college town for the rest of their lives.  John most likely would have taken up the family business of plumbing with his dad.  However, life doesn't always go according to plan.  And, this was one of those times.  As John drove to Annie's senior music recital, a radio announcement changed his life.  It was Sunday, December 7, 1941.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Fighter Pilot ...... A few days later, Glenn signed up to train as a fighter pilot in the military.  It was a commitment of service that lasted twenty-three years in the Marines.  Glenn flew 59 combat missions in World War II, served as a combat instructor, and then flew another 90 missions in the Korean War.  In both of the wars, he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.  Glenn was never injured in combat but his plane was hit on occasion.  One time, the plane had so many bullet holes that his fellow pilots named it the "flying doily".  (If you don't know what a doily is, your grandmother is too young.  Mine made lots of doilies.  Do a Google search.)

Project Bullet ..... After his service in the Korean War, in 1954, Glenn attended the US Test Pilot School at NATC Patuxent River, Maryland.  Now Major Glenn, with a reputation as an established pilot, continued to test the limits of flight.  Project Bullet was the first transcontinental flight at supersonic speed.  On July 16, 1957, Glenn set this record aboard an F8U-1 Crusader from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 8.4 seconds at an average speed of Mach 1.1.  To accomplish this feat, it required two dangerous midair refuelings and when Glenn touched down in Brooklyn, he only had enough fuel in the tank to circle the airport one more time.  Glenn truly deserved his fifth Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission.

The Project Bullet flight provided the first continuous transcontinental panoramic photograph of the United States.  And, if you are ever able to see the footage, you would see New Concord, Ohio.  Since Glenn set the flight path, he wanted to make sure his parents could hear the sonic boom as he flew into the history books.  The flight also captured the attention of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA.


PictureLooking for a few brave men
The Mercury 7 ..... More than 500 applicants signed up for the new space program, but in 1959, John Glenn was selected as one of the United States' first seven astronauts.  He was the senior member of Mercury Seven by both age and rank. More than likely, he hoped to be the first American in space.  Alan Shepard, who claimed that honor on May 5, 1961, flew a suborbital trip that lasted for fifteen minutes.  Gus Grissom, on the second flight on July 21, 1961, flew a suborbital trip that lasted 15 minutes and 37 seconds.  Perhaps it was worth the wait.  On February 20, 1962, John Glenn, the third astronaut from the United States, became the first American to circle the planet.  Inside his capsule, which his family named Friendship 7, he circled the planet three times on a five-hour journey.

His military record was enough to make him a national hero.  However, this trip into space made him a world-wide sensation.  Even the Friendship 7 took an international tour of celebration to seventeen countries around the planet!  After that trip, the "little space capsule that could" took its rightful place in Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institute next to the Wright Brothers' original airplane from Kitty Hawk and Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis.

Two years later, in 1964, Glenn retired from NASA.  He wanted to return to space in other Mercury missions, and eventually join a lunar mission, but it hadn't happened.  He didn't know it at the time, but President Kennedy made sure the national hero didn't return to space.  There was just too much chance that a disaster could happen in the space program's infancy and nobody wanted to lose a national treasure like John Glenn.  He might have thought his chances of returning to space were over, but sometimes life has surprises.  NASA might have been finished with Glenn for the moment, but space and the universe had other plans in mind for a later date.

Back to O H I O . . . . . The Kennedys, both John F. and Bobby, thought that Glenn was a natural fit into politics. Glenn moved back to Ohio to pursue a position in the U.S. Senate representing his home state.  The election didn't happen right away.  Before his election to Congress in 1974, Glenn worked in the corporate world as a director for the Royal Crown Cola Company.

As one of Ohio's favorite sons, Glenn represented the state for 25 years.  He was the first state senator elected four consecutive terms.  Glenn believed that politics was his best avenue of public service after the space program.  He credited Bobby Kennedy for teaching him that politics wasn't a dirty word, as some may think.  He saw it as a calling and ministry.
​

PictureJohn and Annie Glenn, portrait in museum theater
. . . Infinity and Beyond! ..... Throughout his time in Congress, Glenn maintained close contact with NASA. He let it be known often that he regretted not going on future space missions.  And, if ever there was an argument for persistence, listen to the lessons learned in Glenn's life.

It took two years for Glenn to convince both NASA and the National Institute of Aging that it would be good to study the similarities between the physical effects of weightlessness and aging.  Both caused loss of muscle, bone, and blood density as well as disturbed sleep patterns, balance disorders, and lessened cardiovascular strength.  Since he already faced some of these symptoms due to the aging process, Glenn thought it would be good to gather information about the added effects of weightlessness on the elderly.  Hopefully, perhaps, eventually, the mission could unlock secrets to slowing down the aging process.

In October 1998, a mere thirty-five years after his last mission, Senator John Glenn returned to space on the space shuttle Discovery with six other astronauts.  Proving you're never to old to set another world record, at the age of 77, he became the oldest person to fly into space.  The nine day mission was to study the affects of space and weightlessness on the elderly.  Glenn was the perfect candidate for the job because NASA already had so much information on his physical health throughout his life.

He could not have come home any more famous than he already was, but he did return to his second ticker-tape parade in New York City.  That's two more than most people ever receive.

The Ohio State University.... The wonderful quote at the beginning of this blog was uttered on October 3, 1997, when Glenn announced he was donating his personal work, Senate papers, and other artifacts to The Ohio State University.  It was Glenn's desire to create a place that would continue to stimulate the minds of young people rather than simply place his donation in a museum to honor his accomplishments.

Upon his retirement from the US Sentate, the Senator from New Concord established the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.  With no plans to kick back and have it easy in retirement, Glenn served as an adjunct professor, volunteer lecturer, and mentor to students at both OSU and Muskingum University.

Glenn died on December 8, 2016, at the age of 95.   The dean of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, Dr. Trevor Brown, said, "The state of Ohio, the nation, and the world lost a hero.  We at the Glenn College and The Ohio State University lost a friend.  It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the goal of propelling humanity forward through education in his name.  We are proud to carry on his legacy of public service by inspiring young people to serve the greater good and to shaping and molding the next generation of public leaders."

In Memory...  John and Annie Glenn will be forever remembered as a part of American history.   In June 2016, Glenn's experience with flying came full circle in a very special way.  As a child, remember, the eight-year-old boy loved to have his parents bring him to Port Columbus Airport.  As a 94-year-old American hero, astronaut, Senator, and community servant, the airport was renamed the John Glenn International Airport.  He'd been honored by presidents and world leaders, portrayed in film, and celebrated around the world.  But, this honor truly befitted a life well spent in service to others.  And fortunately, it happened while Glenn was still alive to celebrate.

---

A lot of resources were researched to compile this biography.  However, the best source was an article from Columbus Monthly, August 1998, by Jeff Lyttle.  If you want a full story with so much more wonderful detail, check it out.

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Heaven Sent, a Second Time

8/5/2023

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The first of four packing sessions over a two-day period at Genoa Church in Westerville, Ohio
PictureDeng Leek Deng and Lyle Mullins of Heaven Sent Ministries
I heard some statistics recently on the news that caught my attention.  Of course, I don't remember the source, and I certainly wasn't able to backtrack my memory and locate the numbers.  But, I remember being shocked. Somewhere in the vicinity of one in ten people around the world goes to bed hungry every night.  Every night!  I'm not sure if I have ever gone to bed hungry, ever! 

It might have happened on rare occasions when my dad wanted me to eat fried okra.  I wouldn't do it then and I won't do it now.  My dad was no match for his stubborn son.  I would gladly go to bed without supper if it meant I didn't eat okra.  If you had parents like mine, you might have heard these same words, "Eat your food!  There are starving children in Africa."  I never missed a beat.  I'd scoot the plate in my parents' direction and say, "Send this food to them."

I obviously spent a lot of time in my room.

Anyway, back to the statistics, I felt the need to research a little further and see just how "rich" I truly am.  That's a four-letter-word that I've never used to describe myself.  I spend a lot of time feeling like a starving artist, but that just isn't a true statement when life in the United States is compared to the rest of the world.  Around the globe, the median income is somewhere between $2,100 and $2,800 per year.  That's nearly impossible to comprehend unless you've traveled around the world to some of the places that I've been to and seen this truth up close and personally.  And, if that's the mean, there are many people who exist on a whole lot less.

After a little research, I found statistics that shocked me even more.  Add up the value of all your clothes, trinkets, that most treasured possession, and the junk in the back of your closet.  If it equals $1000, you are among the top 69% of the world's wealthiest citizens.  Do you know anyone who is not among this group?  If your calculations reach the $10,000 mark, you are among the top 32%.  My last number to humble you is $100,000.  If you calculated that total, it puts you in the top 9% of the world's wealthiest people.  And, I learned that if you are in this group, a mere 1% of your income could feed a family in Ethiopia for a year.

Does any of this make you want to help someone other than yourself?  It did me, and very fortunately, I had the opportunity to do just that.  Last year, my church sponsored an event to send food to people in Ukraine with an organization called Heaven Sent Ministries.  This year, a second weekend was set aside to pack up containers of food, this time for South Sudan.  The closest I've ever been to South Sudan was neighboring Ethiopia and Uganda.  In all of my travels, I've never been to a place as war-torn as this corner of Africa. 

Heaven Sent Ministries brought one of their employees, Deng Leek Deng, from South Sudan, to the packing event.  Rarely have I ever met someone who so instantly inspired me by his story.  South Sudan has been at war most of Deng Leek Deng's life.  There have been two civil wars, ethnic cleansing, human rights abuses, killings, torture, rebellion, and atrocities.  And, this gentle man still lives there.  His wife and children reside in Uganda where school is available in a secure environment.  He takes the 12-hour bus to visit his family once every two or three months.  

I didn't need to know anything else about the guy to respect him, but the founder of Heaven Sent Ministries, Lyle Mullins, shared one more tidbit.  Every day, before doing any kind of work, Deng Leek Deng goes to his church to pray.  He has a vehicle that belongs to Heaven Sent Ministries, but the guy doesn't want to use the project's gasoline for his personal needs.  He walks to church, one hour in each direction!  Before he finished speaking, this man from South Sudan wanted to pray for the 120 volunteers who gathered to assemble packages of food for his people.  

The prayers should have gone in the other direction!
​

PictureCreating meal pouches of soy, spices, vitamins and rice.
I'm not anything if not a creature of habit.  Last year, for both of the sessions when I packed food, I weighed the packets of soy, vitamins, spices, and rice to be sure each bag was approximately 400 grams.  So, it should come as no surprise that I headed back to the scales again.  But, this time, instead of two people working the scales, there were three.  It was just so much easier to handle.  In fact, it was so easy that I took a break to take some photographs.

My mama didn't raise no fool.  Last year, I didn't bring my camera.  I wanted a couple of photos for my blog.  So, I asked the local newspaper if I could take a few still images from a video they shot.  Of course, they gave me permission -- for $150 per photo!  Obviously, I didn't use those stills.  And, even more obviously, this go around, I was prepared with my own camera.

After taking my photos, I returned to the scales.  However, the group of five women who prepared the bags that I weighed had a better idea. They suggested I join them as a second bagger.  I held a plastic bag under a funnel to collect the goodies that went into each meal pouch.  With two baggers at work, the whole experience was so much quicker.  And, honestly, I'll never volunteer to weigh those bags ever again.  The five women were so very much more fun.  We laughed, joked, shared, got to know each other, and spilled not a small amount of rice, spice, and other nutrients along the way.  I was so very surprised how quickly the two hours passed.  So very fast!

The goal of the session, of course, was to package food for those in need.  Instead of boxes, this time five-gallon plastic buckets with lids were each stuffed with 30 sealed meals.  Why buckets?  They were so much more useful after the shipments of food were delivered.  Those buckets could be used for hauling water, taking baths, storing supplies, and even as additional seating for the home.  They were a lasting reminder of the gift of life that the buckets originally contained.  After all, each of those plastic bags of rice had enough supplies to feed a family of six.

As we packed the meals during our two-hour shift, the shipping container arrived at the church's parking lot.  It would soon head by boat to Africa on a journey that would take two to three months.  It's not an exact science.  You never really know about delays and time schedules in distant shores that lack peace and security that we all too often take for granted.  The shipping container will arrive in Mombasa, Kenya, before taking the two-week overland journey to South Sudan.  When it arrives at its final destination, my favorite person from South Sudan, Deng Leek Deng, will meet the container and set about distributing the life-saving food to people so desperate to receive it.  That food could be in no better hands.

And, there will be no okra in the shipment.


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A quick break with five women who had a better idea
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If It Sounds Too Good to Be True . . .

7/23/2023

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One of the ten had a muraling theme, naturally.
I've self-published my books with a few different companies since I started my writing career.  Up until recently, I've been extremely happy with the company that now prints my hardcover books.  For now, they remain nameless.  And, there is a reason for that.  They messed up my last order, printing several covers way too dark.

Now, customer service is no longer what it used to be in this world.  It is impossible to call up the company and speak to a human.  Impossible!  Impossible -- and maddening as well!  I have to rely on email messages.  And, I have written to the company four times so far.  I have not received one reply on the matter.  Okay, the last letter was dripping with sarcasm, but they should have replied to the first three.  Now, I think I'm left to writing to them every day.  I don't know what else to do at this point.

Anyway, it occurred to me that perhaps the customer service replies went to my spam mail or trash folder.  That was being too generous for this company.  No, there was no accident with email delivery.  And, no, there was no message from customer service lurking in my spam folder.

I did, however, find an interesting email.  Someone was seeking me out to do some custom illustrations for a project.  The fact that I stumbled across this under these circumstances seems like it was meant to be.  It was a little bit of unexpected blessing out of the blue.  And, things like that do happen in my life.

I contacted the person who wrote to me to see if they were still interested.  YES!  And, this person gave a very specific list of illustrations needed for the project.  It was like it was tailor made for me.  I gave my prices for use of my existing clipart (which many people want to use) as well as my fees for original art.  I can tell you that teachers rarely ever want to pay for original art.  However, this person wanted ten illustrations, a little more complex than what I usually do, and the sponsor was willing to pay for it.  Instead of earning what few teachers are ever willing to pay, this was a project with a rate similar to what I would expect in the professional business world.  And, I've never really worked for someone with that kind of budget.

I explained a lot of things that I tell every potential client.  I need the name of the project, the name of the company, the phone number, and contact person in order to create the contract.  I didn't receive that information right away. 

A small red flag went up.

Usually, I want multiple payments.  I want one third up front, one third upon completion of the sketches, and one third after finishing the project.  Much to my surprise, I was told that they knew the kind of work I produce.  They were happy to send payment in full right from the start.  Okay, as I said, I've never worked with clients like this before.  They didn't even need to approve the sketches.  Whatever I created would be fine.  Nobody ever says that.

It should have been another red flag.

On Friday, the full amount for the check came to my doorstep with a DHL shipment.  I rushed it to the bank.  Then, I used the address information on the DHL envelope to complete the contract and send it back to my contact.  Very silly me.  I should know this lesson by now.  Do not ever put pencil to paper until you have a signed, valid contract in hand.  But silly me, I spent the week working on the ten sketches.  When I sent the contract, I also sent the ten sketches for approval. 

On Saturday, I received a message saying that the sponsor noted the funds were out of their account.  Were they successfully in mine?  Nobody ever asked me questions like this before.  And then, low and behold, the sponsor's partner suddenly died.  Phase 2 of the project, five of the drawings, was cancelled.  They would only do Phase 1.  

All kinds of flags were waving now.  

I knew what was next.  They would want half of the funds sent back to them.

At five minutes before Saturday closing, I called my local bank.  Before I could even finish my story, my banker said that it was a scam.  Under no circumstances, do not send them any money!  He told me that the scammers wait for the victim to send them the requested refund and then their check bounces.  Although I was tempted to empty my account and move on to a new bank, I was advised to let the money sit in the account until their check bounces.  It could take up to 120 days!  Do not touch it.

After that phone call, I had time to do a little more online research.  The address on the DHL package is non-existent.  The sender on the envelope could not be located.  The name of the business was not to be found with the Better Business Bureau in the city of origin.  

And, no surprise here, in the meantime, I got a message from the scammer asking if I could send them money by PayPal or Venmo.  Which method did I prefer?  I said that I would do nothing until I had time to contact my banker and attorney on Monday.  Surprise, surprise, surprise!   The text messages stopped.

So, lesson learned, again.  Do not ever put pencil to paper before a legal, contract is in hand.  And, if you don't know the client, do your homework.  Get the business address, client name, sponsor name, company website, and Better Business Bureau confirmation before wasting any time on the project.

Fortunately, I'm not out any money and no contract was signed with some unscrupulous scammers.  I did, however, spend a week working on artwork that will never be used.  I could have spent the week working on children's book number 21 to publish with the same company that poorly printed my last books at the start of all this confusion.

So, no great illustration project is continuing this week.  No new murals will be funded by this adventure.  I'll continue to work on a folktale from Fiji and write multiple letters of complaint to a certain unresponsive lack of customer service department.

​And, I will NOT check my spam folder!

P.S.  On Monday morning I headed to my bank.  The "infamous" check was still in their location.  Very interestingly, the address on the check was from a business on the west coast and it was sent to me from a location on the east coast.  My banker believes that possibly the check was "scrubbed" (however that is done) and then sent to me.  By the time the west coast business discovered this error in their accounts, the scammers were supposed to merrily skip away with my money.  My banker said that he would call the business on the west coast and have them check their records.  I suggested he also ask if there was any kind of hefty reward for helping them.  

And, I learned something on this trip to the bank that I will never forget.  The banker said that it is very risky to send checks in the mail these days.  Too often they will be stolen, which opens things up for fraud.  He said to always hand-deliver your checks or find an alternative method of payment.  Now, you know too.

P.S.S.  It hasn't even been a month since I posted this blog.  Nope, not one month.  When what in my email box should there land, but another email with a hint of a scam?  I received another email interested in hiring me for my cartooning.  But, fool me once, shame on you.  You know who to blame if I'm fooled a second time.  When I received the request, I said I wanted to know more about the organization I was going to support.  Could they send me the URL?  Plans were in the next email to suggest business address and name of CEO for the contract.  FYI, I would use that information to contact their local Better Business Bureau.  Yep, I've learned from experience!

The URL never came in the reply email, but I got a full description of the art that was wanted.  In the last go around, it was an "educational" project to inform students about Covid and Social Distancing.  It was all set up in two phases with a really great salary.  Well, scam number two had the same set up.  Two phases, great pay, but this time the "educational" project was focused on Monkeypox!  Now, if you don't know how that is passed, be thankful, and preserve your innocence.  If you do know that information, can you possibly imagine my cartooning being used for that project?

I was tempted to write something crass to the scammer.  So tempted!  Instead, I ended our communication with a note just dripping with the right amount of snark, sarcasm, and truth.  "Take my name off of your list.  I know all about your scam.  I've even blogged about it in the past.  I have no need to blog about it again."

​I was right.  It ended our communication.

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Under the Shade of the Hanby House

6/13/2023

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I had a new landmark event in my career as an artist/author.  I was invited to a book signing afternoon at the Hanby House in Westerville, Ohio.  I was among three local authors invited to the event.  And, it was a lovely summer afternoon as I set up my display in the shade of a very large tree.

Word was sent out to several schools and organizations in the community to advertise the event.  And, you never really know who or how many guests will show up for something like that.  Some people spent a good amount of time talking to the authors, while others breezed on by to their own loss.  One of my particularly favorite visitors was a young girl who said she was an artist.  I had to ask, "Do you also draw on your math papers?"  We bonded instantly over that.  And, her mother testified that she had seen the decorated homework papers.  I know, math teachers never like it when I ask children that question, but I believe that class helped to develop my drawing skills when I was in elementary school.

Another man should have had a table set up next to mine with his own book.  Instead, he stood in front of my display for two and a half hours, telling one amazing story after another.  I have my own supply of adventures and disasters from a lifetime of world travels.   But, I rarely have ever heard anyone like this man.  He shared his own adventures; as well as the story of his brother, a chaplain, who was killed in Vietnam; and a grandfather (with several greats in front of it) who explored the Ohio River in the early 1800s.  Yes, sometime in the future, he needs to sit behind a sales table with his own book.

So, you may have guessed that I had a table to display my books.  I have completed 19 children's books and am almost finished with number 20, a tale from Thailand called If It Is Truly Ours.  It's enough books to very nicely fill up a table.  Anyone looking for children's books should be able to find something that suits their needs in the colorful display.  One woman, who looked vaguely familiar, read her invitation to the event and then looked me up on the internet.  (You can find more information that you will ever possibly be able to read if you explore my website at phillipmartin.com). 

I thought that this woman might look familiar since I displayed my Christmas ornaments at the Hanby House last Christmas.  No, she didn't attend that event.  This woman was a former Peace Corps Volunteer who attended an art exhibition of my African portraits at the Ohio State University EIGHT YEARS AGO!  I haven't had many exhibitions in my life.  How she even heard of it in order to attend is a mystery to me.  But, she remembered my portraits and said, "It doesn't look like the same artist could possibly draw the portraits you create and then illustrate these books."  I had to agree with her.  It does look like any artist who creates both of these crafts must have a split personality disorder.  Well, let me complicate matters even further.  Most of the eggs that I decorate as Christmas ornaments look like a third artist created them.  What does this say about me?  I don't think I want the answer to that question.

As I said, this woman looked up my books online.  She asked, "Where are your coloring books?"  In a basket next to my table, I had coloring books and paperback editions of my children's books.  There just wasn't enough room on one table to display it all.  I needed a second table.

Another woman, a greeter for the Hanby House, pulled her chair up to my table for the afternoon.  When she wasn't entertained by tales of early Ohio history, she examined my books.  And, she liked what she saw, which is always nice.

Between the Peace Corps Volunteer, the greeter, and the woman who was in charge of the Westerville Historical Society, there were three very connected women who liked my books.  They also heard some of my stories.  And, all three of them agreed that I should be a presence in Westerville schools and the Westerville Public Library.  It's a very good thing when connected women feel this way.  They promised to work their connections, connections which I woefully lack.  So, I'm very thrilled about very connected women.

I'm not sure who was the fastest, but someone worked those connections over the weekend.  My showing at the Hanby House was on Saturday.  On Monday morning, I had contact from the Westerville Public Library.  The person writing to me heard about the afternoon author exhibition, explored my website, and requested a few pdfs to see some of my work.  It appears that there may be more firsts coming up on this artist/author adventure.  Who know?  Maybe at a library near you as well?


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    Wander My World With Me 
    by Phillip Martin

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 We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”
 
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