My Interesting Stories
This morning I was writing to a new pen pal in Finland who really enjoys crime novels written by women. As this used to be a favorite genre of mine, I gave her some recommendations. As I was writing one of them, Mary Higgins Clark, a flood of memories came back to me, including one of the more interesting stories of my past.
You see, despite me being an introvert and not being very outgoing any more, I do have a lot of stories from my early days that are rather interesting. Some are quite impressive too.
This one in particular involved the author, Mary Higgins Clark.
As you know, way back when, I shattered my ankle. At the time I was living alone so my parents thought it best that I stay with them for a few weeks after I had surgery in order to recover. It was not a fun period as I was in a lot of pain and miserable. However, there was one thing that gave me pleasure: books. My father was an avid reader as well and had an impressive collection at his house. I "found" Mary Higgins Clark at this time and started devouring her books.
At one point, my mother told me that Clark will be at a local store doing a book signing that day. I asked her to please get one of my books signed as it would really cheer me up. In a rare bit of pleasantness, my mother agreed. As there were not a lot of people at the store, she was able to talk with Clark for a bit and told her my situation. Clark felt bad for me so she made a lovely note in my book along with an autograph. I was so happy!
Fast forward a few weeks. My parents are at a restaurant and lo and behold, Clark is there with her husband. My parents knew she had a summer home on Cape Cod but never before met her in person. My mother is quite the social butterfly so she just quickly stopped by Clark's table to thank her for the autograph and tell her how much it meant to me. The next thing they knew, they are having dinner with her! If you knew my mother, this would make perfect sense. She is amazing at things like this. I joke that she could be on line at the grocery store and ten minutes later have six couples coming over for dinner.
Anyway, as they were talking, Clark heard my father's last name and asked if he knew someone with a similar last name. If you can believe it, it was my father's cousin. She grew up in the same neighborhood in the Bronx as my dad's cousin and were friendly. He must have made an impression on her as she named one of her main characters after him! If I had read the book it would have been obvious to me as our last name is not common, but as luck would have it, that was the one book of her's that my father did not have.
It really is a small world. A famous author naming a character after my father's cousin. Who would believe it?
Maybe one day I will see Clark at a book signing myself. I doubt she would remember the story or the dinner but I would still thank her as it all still brings a smile to my face over twenty years later.
You see, despite me being an introvert and not being very outgoing any more, I do have a lot of stories from my early days that are rather interesting. Some are quite impressive too.
This one in particular involved the author, Mary Higgins Clark.
As you know, way back when, I shattered my ankle. At the time I was living alone so my parents thought it best that I stay with them for a few weeks after I had surgery in order to recover. It was not a fun period as I was in a lot of pain and miserable. However, there was one thing that gave me pleasure: books. My father was an avid reader as well and had an impressive collection at his house. I "found" Mary Higgins Clark at this time and started devouring her books.
At one point, my mother told me that Clark will be at a local store doing a book signing that day. I asked her to please get one of my books signed as it would really cheer me up. In a rare bit of pleasantness, my mother agreed. As there were not a lot of people at the store, she was able to talk with Clark for a bit and told her my situation. Clark felt bad for me so she made a lovely note in my book along with an autograph. I was so happy!
Fast forward a few weeks. My parents are at a restaurant and lo and behold, Clark is there with her husband. My parents knew she had a summer home on Cape Cod but never before met her in person. My mother is quite the social butterfly so she just quickly stopped by Clark's table to thank her for the autograph and tell her how much it meant to me. The next thing they knew, they are having dinner with her! If you knew my mother, this would make perfect sense. She is amazing at things like this. I joke that she could be on line at the grocery store and ten minutes later have six couples coming over for dinner.
It really is a small world. A famous author naming a character after my father's cousin. Who would believe it?
Maybe one day I will see Clark at a book signing myself. I doubt she would remember the story or the dinner but I would still thank her as it all still brings a smile to my face over twenty years later.
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