I was on NPR's "Think" with Krys Boyd yesterday. I was a wee bit nervous, but I rode out the anxious feelings and managed to sound non-nincompoopish. Yes, that's probably a word. If not, it should be. I hope you listen to it. I'd love to hear what you THINK!!!
National Museum of Funeral History
This past weekend, I ventured down to Houston to attend the
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
conference. Since a lot of
is about death row and a man who was executed there, I felt the attendees might be interested in the book. The power of story and all that. Plus, I am totally against the death penalty. So is the
. Speaking of the Pope, guess what I just saw?
Yes, that's right folks, I saw the Popemobile
Since I had most of Friday free to explore a few things, I decided to check out the National Museum of Funeral History. Not only would I get to wander around a museum, which I love, I figured they might be interested in carrying a few copies of my book in their gift shop. Plus, Popemobile!
I had no idea what to expect when I entered the door. I've been to a fair amount of museums, but this one was thoroughly entertaining. My only complaint was that there weren't any staff members around the displays to answer questions, so I had to bug the lady in the gift shop on a few occasions. I was the only person in the museum. Was I scared? Nope.
The first thing to draw my eye when I entered the museum was this giant coffin. I read the accompanying story about two people whose child had died. They were so distraught, they planned a murder/suicide and ordered this three person coffin. Thankfully, they didn't carry out their plan. Curious, I wandered over to the coffin and took a look inside to find the receipt and it blew my mind.
This freaked me out.
in Durango, Colorado! If you've read my book, you'd understand why this kind of gave me pause. What were the chances? Out of all the funeral homes in all of the world, why did this casket get delivered to Hood? According to the story, Hood donated it to the museum.
In addition to caskets, this place contains a plethora of hearses from different time periods. This one was my all time favorite. I would love to drive this car. Not only is it flashy, it's got great storage capabilities.
There were also displays about embalming, including its origin in Egypt (that display was a bit cheesy, but sadly I don't have a picture.) but also its introduction in America during the Civil War.
This was an old embalming table. You will notice the bucket at the bottom to catch the fluids. No embalming for me, thanks!
If you are ever in Houston, you should check this place out. There is all kinds of cool stuff. There are cars, presidential memorabilia, wacky caskets, Victorian jewelry made from human hair of the deceased, mourning clothes and this book. I loved this book. I just wanted to iron it and give it a good cleaning.
It's "Signs of Death" and it had an interactive display next to it so that you could read the text inside.
So, what's the most interesting museum you've been to? Have you been to this museum? What did you think?
Crossing Something BIG off of my Bucket List!
And this news is so super exciting that I feel like Charlie Bucket with a golden ticket!!!
See? There I am, except I'm older, female and a Willy Wonka chocolate factory tour is not in my future, especially if I want to keep this middle-aged spread in check!
So what is the big news? Am I going to meet
?
Um, sadly, no.
Will I be jetting off to Paris for the weekend? No, but I may have some French Fries with dinner tonight.
Will I be accepting an
in the next few weeks? No. That would be ridiculous because I'm boycotting the Oscars due to the fact that they didn't nominate me for simply existing.
Will my book edge
out of the number one spot? No. Probably not. It's a really good book and you should check it out. Seriously. Have Kleenex at your side while reading.
So what exactly will I be doing?
Well, my three blog readers, I'll tell you. I am going to be on NPR!!! This is like a dream come true for any writer and for some reason I got the golden ticket and I will be happy just to be there!
When is it happening? Wednesday, February 24 at noon. The program is called
and it is on my local NPR station, KERA.
If I don't pass out or die during the live interview, I'll be sure to post a link to it.
Happy Thursday! I think I will leave you with a song.
So, what's on your bucket list? And what are you doing to make it happen?