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The Tomie dePaola eNewsletter By Bob Hechtel, with Tomie dePaola Some people will do just about anything to get a good meal. Tomie got up at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday so that he could catch the bus to Boston and the train from Boston to Washington, DC. for an arrival in Washington around 5:00 p.m. Lynda Johnson Robb had asked Tomie to join her, her husband and fifty of their friends at a fundraising dinner for Reading Is Fundamental at her home in McLean, outside of Washington, DC. While touring Lynda and Chuck Robb’s house before dinner, Tomie was able to tell Lynda a funny story about the first time his parents were dinner guests at the White House when Lynda and her family lived there. Flossie, Tomie’s mother, was a bit nervous at dinner and unintentionally took home the cloth napkin from her table. A few days later, she washed and ironed the napkin and sent it back to the White House with a note of apology. Lynda loved the story. After dinner was served at the RIF event, Tomie read from CHRISTMAS REMEMBERED (on sale September 2006) and drew Strega Nona. It was a very nice evening. On Thursday, Tomie got up at 4:30 a.m. and reversed his trip. He got home around 5:30 p.m. And I think a 30-minute drive is a long way to go for dinner! It was also an exciting week for Brontë. Tomie took Brontë to the pet resort on Tuesday. Brontë headed to his room without a look back or a wave goodbye. He was keen on seeing who else was staying at the inn. On Thursday, Dee, Brontë’s buddy, came to pick him up. He forgot how well Dee had trained him and went wild upon seeing her. Dee had been in England and Ireland for two weeks. This was his first Dee-time in nearly three weeks. Dee brought Brontë to Tomie’s house not long after he returned from Washington. Now, all was right in the world… for at least one dog. When we started tomie.com, we posted calendars several months ahead, but that plan turned out to be impractical. We now only add the newest month’s calendar at the beginning of that month. So, I’m going to use this newsletter to mention and list events that won’t appear on the calendars for awhile. On Saturday, May 6, Tomie will talk about and autograph his books at the Meriden Public Library in his hometown of Meriden, Connecticut. The room in which Tomie will present is rather small, so an early arrival is advised if you want to fit into the room. Autographings in Meriden are always a bit of a chuckle because relatives, former classmates and neighbors of the dePaola family attend and reminisce. “Miss Leah,” Tomie’s childhood dancing instructor, came to one Meriden book signing with her cousin, Rhoda. Tomie got up from behind the signing table and did a time step with Miss Leah. They both still had it! (A few years ago, we were leaving a Meriden toy and gift store after an autographing that had lasted many hours. One of the gals at the cash registers, a rather substantial young woman, bellowed, “Tom, you still got it! I don’t know what it is, but you still got it!”) Bridget in Australia wrote, “We were just reading about the tap dancing in HERE WE ALL ARE. Did you dance with Joan in the play?” In HERE WE ALL ARE, Tomie wrote about tap dancing class. Miss Leah was preparing for a recital and asked Tomie and Joan Ciotti to perform “The Farmer in the Dell” as the farmer and his wife. But, HERE WE ALL ARE came to “The End” before Tomie and Joan performed. Bridget, the answer is YES. The performance is described in dramatic and vivid detail in ON MY WAY, the “26 Fairmount Avenue” book that follows HERE WE ALL ARE. If Bridget sees Tomie’s Australian godson, Fraser, and his friend, Alex, tell them “G’day, mates, from Tomie!” Until next time, best wishes, http://www.tomie.com UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST Saturday, May 6, 2006 Friday, July 28, 2006 Saturday, July 29, 2006 |
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