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The glamour of the writing life - fpw - 06-03-2006
[SIZE="3"]If you’ve been paying attention, you know that I agreed to do two signings on back-to-back nights in Manhattan to support the launch of the THRILLER anthology. The first, on 6/1, came off very well. But the next night…
I live about an hour out of NYC. Since 6/2 was a Friday, and since Fridays can be hell getting in and out of the city (especially during rainy weather – and storms are predicted), I decide to take the train. I catch the 3:38 out of Little Silver, NJ.
We travel maybe 3 stops before the conductor comes on the speaker and tells us that a transformer to the north has been hit by lightning and we may not be able to proceed. Swell. But it’s not wasted time. I’m revising Virgin for the Borderlands edition. I have the ms. along, so I pull out my red pen and get to work. After a while we’re moving again. We pull into Penn Station by 5:30. The signing is at 6. No problem. I’m a subway pro. I can make it to the Borders at Park and 57th in no time.
Ha!
It seems a violent storm hit the city around 4pm, dumping a huge amount of rain, flooding train tracks and subway tunnels in Queens and Manhattan. Penn Station is like a scene out of a disaster movie. Mobbed. LIRR, Amtrak, and NJTransit trains are being canceled or delayed. The Station is huge and there’s barely room to move.
But I fight my way to the subways and now I’m in Bladerunner: hordes of people hopping puddles formed by the water leaking down from the street as they hurry through decrepit tiled gullets. I catch the 1 up to 42nd Street where I plan to take either the Q, N, R, or W over to 59th and Lexington, leaving me 3 blocks from the bookstore.
Again: Ha!
Another mob scene. Flooding has stopped all those trains, and all Queens-bound passengers are jammed on the dripping platforms wondering what to do. And it’s got to be 95 degrees down here. With 110% humidity. I’m drenched, and not with rain. So I take the 42nd Street shuttle to Grand Central Station where I think I’ll grab the 4, 5, or 6 uptown on the Lexington line and make it to the store just in time.
All together now: Ha!
I can’t even get into the subway station. So I walk 16 blocks in the rain and arrive at the bookstore at 6:25 looking like a drowned rat. The other 3 authors are already there and the discussion is in gear. It’s a small crowd – who’d want to brave the weather and the mass transit nightmare to hear us? – but at least somebody showed up.
At 7:10 it’s over. Transit is still in chaos, so Maggers and I find a bar and we kill some time. Finally, with some gin in my gut, I feel brave enough for the trip home.
The Q, N, R, & W still aren't running but the 6 is, so I take that from 59th down to Grand Central, then shuttle back to 42nd where I take the 1 which delivers me to Penn Station at 9:15. I catch the 9:45 train back to Jersey.
So, here’s the bottom line: I left my home at 3:15, got back in at 11:45 – an 8.5-hour trip to spend 45 minutes at a 70-minute event that netted maybe 20 signed copies.
It’s the glamour, folks. That’s why we write. The glamour. [/SIZE]
The glamour of the writing life - fpw - 06-03-2006
[SIZE="3"](Gasp!) I just realized: This all happened on the day Forum membership hit 666!
Do you think...? Nah.[/SIZE]
The glamour of the writing life - Maggers - 06-03-2006
When you walked in to the signing, you really did look like an oddly parched drowned rat, but I didn't want to be the one to tell you.
It's amazing that in 2006 a torrential downpour can paralyze the City. Granted, it was a REALLY heavy rain for many hours, but you'd think the City would be prepared.
Ha!
I left Paul at the subway station thinking he'd be home, nice and dry, in a couple of hours. Then I wound up walking home because traffic was at a standstill and the subways were still messed up. There were NO taxis available. People trying to take buses to Queens were standing in lines that went on for blocks; they'd been waiting for 3 hours by that time. The 59th Street Bridge was crowded with pedestrians, and it's not a bridge that easily accommodates walkers. There's not much of a wall protecting pedestrians from plummeting to the water hundreds of feet below.
When I got home and heard on the news that the R train, which Paul was going to take to Penn Station, was not running, I had a sinking feeling that he was in for a hard time. I didn't think it would be THAT hard. Then I saw the video of mobs at Penn Station milling around and going nowhere.
It is, indeed, a glamorous life you lead, Paul.
The glamour of the writing life - Marc - 06-03-2006
Maggers Wrote:When you walked in to the signing, you really did look like an oddly parched drowned rat, but I didn't want to be the one to tell you.
Please tell me you got a photo.
The glamour of the writing life - Maggers - 06-03-2006
Marc B. Wrote:Please tell me you got a photo.
LOL! I did get photos, but I deliberately waited until Paul's color returned to normal and his hair dried somewhat. Poor guy was beet red from hurrying in the heat and 110% humidity.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/maggers2240/album?.dir=6e20re2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/maggers2240/my_photos
The glamour of the writing life - cobalt - 06-03-2006
fpw Wrote:[SIZE="3"](Gasp!) I just realized: This all happened on the day Forum membership hit 666!ROFL! We had created a thread just for this. It also seems that my posts are nearing that number as well. Webby was even posting a down count after me!
Do you think...? Nah.[/SIZE]
Travel story/nightmare, but I was one fan that appreciated your efferts on 6/1. I'm very glad that you made it home okay, albeit late!
The glamour of the writing life - Amon - 06-03-2006
You have my sympathy.
I can't stand humidity, and 95 degree humidity sounds like Hell itself.
The glamour of the writing life - Maggers - 06-03-2006
Amon Wrote:You have my sympathy.
Welcome to the board, Amon.
And should you ever make it to NYC in the summer, welcome to 90+degree temps and 80+% humidity. Head into the subways and the heat and humidity jump to near smothering levels. The trains are air conditioned but the platforms aren't. Yeech.
The glamour of the writing life - webby - 06-04-2006
Now, if you lived in the Great Midwest, you'd have just been stuck on the highway in your car for all those hours, running the A/C, burning up gas to move inches at a time... and if you drive a manual transmission (as I do!), holding down the clutch that whole time is a real pain - literally!
The glamour of the writing life - Bluesman Mike Lindner - 06-04-2006
fpw Wrote:[SIZE="3"]If you’ve been paying attention, you know that I agreed to do two signings on back-to-back nights in Manhattan to support the launch of the THRILLER anthology. The first, on 6/1, came off very well. But the next night…
I live about an hour out of NYC. Since 6/2 was a Friday, and since Fridays can be hell getting in and out of the city (especially during rainy weather – and storms are predicted), I decide to take the train. I catch the 3:38 out of Little Silver, NJ.
We travel maybe 3 stops before the conductor comes on the speaker and tells us that a transformer to the north has been hit by lightning and we may not be able to proceed. Swell. But it’s not wasted time. I’m revising Virgin for the Borderlands edition. I have the ms. along, so I pull out my red pen and get to work. After a while we’re moving again. We pull into Penn Station by 5:30. The signing is at 6. No problem. I’m a subway pro. I can make it to the Borders at Park and 57th in no time.
Ha!
It seems a violent storm hit the city around 4pm, dumping a huge amount of rain, flooding train tracks and subway tunnels in Queens and Manhattan. Penn Station is like a scene out of a disaster movie. Mobbed. LIRR, Amtrak, and NJTransit trains are being canceled or delayed. The Station is huge and there’s barely room to move.
But I fight my way to the subways and now I’m in Bladerunner: hordes of people hopping puddles formed by the water leaking down from the street as they hurry through decrepit tiled gullets. I catch the 1 up to 42nd Street where I plan to take either the Q, N, R, or W over to 59th and Lexington, leaving me 3 blocks from the bookstore.
Again: Ha!
Another mob scene. Flooding has stopped all those trains, and all Queens-bound passengers are jammed on the dripping platforms wondering what to do. And it’s got to be 95 degrees down here. With 110% humidity. I’m drenched, and not with rain. So I take the 42nd Street shuttle to Grand Central Station where I think I’ll grab the 4, 5, or 6 uptown on the Lexington line and make it to the store just in time.
All together now: Ha!
I can’t even get into the subway station. So I walk 16 blocks in the rain and arrive at the bookstore at 6:25 looking like a drowned rat. The other 3 authors are already there and the discussion is in gear. It’s a small crowd – who’d want to brave the weather and the mass transit nightmare to hear us? – but at least somebody showed up.
At 7:10 it’s over. Transit is still in chaos, so Maggers and I find a bar and we kill some time. Finally, with some gin in my gut, I feel brave enough for the trip home.
The Q, N, R, & W still aren't running but the 6 is, so I take that from 59th down to Grand Central, then shuttle back to 42nd where I take the 1 which delivers me to Penn Station at 9:15. I catch the 9:45 train back to Jersey.
So, here’s the bottom line: I left my home at 3:15, got back in at 11:45 – an 8.5-hour trip to spend 45 minutes at a 70-minute event that netted maybe 20 signed copies.
It’s the glamour, folks. That’s why we write. The glamour. [/SIZE]
You were going to Borders, Paul. Did you think the bookselling gods wouldn't take notice and show their displeasure?