Speaking Gig At Los Alamos Middle School

I had the great privilege to address about one hundred and fifty great kids and teachers of the Los Alamos middle school in January. The message of the universal energies of the land, romance, the American spirit, and self-reliance formed the core of the presentation. We talked about the undeniable fact that we are all from elsewhere but are bound by those chunks of “soul food.” Fun stories brought laughter, applause, great interaction and over half an hour of terrific questions. Those kids definitely got the concepts! It was a total delight. Thanks to Peggy Durbin of Ottowi Station Bookstore and Museum, for setting up the event and the “Los Mos” school system for hosting it. Los Mos rocks!

We are so pleased that Reid enjoyed speaking with the students at the Los Alamos, NM, Middle School on January 28. Speaking for nearly two hours to a rapt audience of about 100 seventh and eighth graders, Reid discussed self-expression and the creative process, self-reliance ("If you need a hand, look at the end of your arm"), and the universal energies of the land and romance. The students may not have known it then, but they were also getting a free writing workshop. The students' questions to Reid were thoughtful and full of insight. He was unfailingly respectful of and interested in the kids. He and I were especially pleased when several students remained after the talk to discuss their own writing with him. 


The signing the evening of January 28 was a delight. As I told Reid, our customers prefer to talk the authors' ears off, and that seemed to suit him perfectly. Several of the students from the morning's talk came by for books. Of course, we always have some shy customers who call a couple minutes before the signing is scheduled to end and who ask in a fraught whisper, "Is he still there? Will you have him inscribe a book to Richard?"
A good customer to the store came in this morning and wanted to know whetherThreads West would be a good selection for her book club. I told her it would be perfect.


Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing Reid again.
Sincerely,
Peggy Durbin