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ALL’S QUIET ON THE HURRICANE FRONT!

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Interestingly, Hurricane Fay has her eye on me, sitting here in her direct path as I am, in Clearwater, Florida.  Today is utterly beautiful and the sun shines brightly because Fay has vacuumed all surrounding clouds into her spinning self.  I want very much to go take a long exercise walk on the beach but am sticking close to my computer and phone because my book manuscript is undergoing its final formatting and I may need to answer questions.  Everything concerning the book is also spinning along to a rousing conclusion.  (Just a reminder or to any late-joiners: the book is my “Hey Boomers, Dust Off Your Backpacks: Travel The World On A Limited Budget.”)

If my calculations are correct, I will be able to sling my two PDFs, containing my finished book cover and manuscript, up towards the Lightning Source printers in Nashville, Tennessee, just at the very moment when Fay is predicted to come and pound us on this central West Coast of Florida, right beside the Gulf of Mexico, westward of Tampa.  Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Wouldn’t that be dramatic?  What a book launch!  Why, those hurricane force winds could conceivably carry this project right on up to the big talk shows in Neu Yawk City or Chickargo.  Sounds mighty symbolic to me!  And a radical launch calls for radical promotion measures.  That’s all the excuse I need.

So, here’s another Hurricane-worthy selling point that I shall unveil on this blogsite. Just this morning, I did a quite odd and radical thing in the way of future publicity….but a genuine one, nonetheless.  I applied to Guinness World Records in London, England, to be considered for a new category title: 

“The World’s Oldest, Solo, Around The World Backpacker.”

Don’t laugh!  I’m going for it – if they accept my challenge.  And why shouldn’t they, I ask?  I’m genuine.  I can’t claim it for my around the world, year-long, solo trip in 2005 at ages 67/68 (which said Hurricane Fay book is all about) because I didn’t actually begin to backpack until Prague. I toiled with a drag-along suitcase for three months. 

But, my planned around the world journey beginning January, 2009, will be all of the above at age 71.  At the moment, Guinness doesn’t even have a category for oldest any kind of backpacker, so I think I have this one in the bag…..er…. backpack.  Let me do a survey here.  Do any of you know of one of us who is older than I am?  Well, we could contend.  That would stir things up.  What a funny fogey fight that would be, huh? 

So, there’s been a lot of slinging going on, down here in Florida, lately.  I just slung my challenge over to England today and on Tuesday, I plan to sling my print-ready book over to Tennessee, aided by some errant winds wielded by a sassy gal named Fay.  The following Monday, a proof copy will be slung back at me and if it looks good, we’ll be off to the races.

Meanwhile, it’s mighty quiet down here in the calm before the storm.