Are you involved in the world?

I have a good friend who is involved in all kinds of statewide civic causes that reflect the wide variety of her interests—The Texas State Historical Society, the Texas Institute of Letters, the Texas Folklore Society, alumni organizations and boards, state committees on the humanities and other such. She’s been president of a lot of those things, and every week finds her flitting to Austin or some such. Now she says she’s accepted a spot on the board of the Dallas Public Library. And whatever she does, she does it full throttle. And then tells me her schedule is going to do her in. I chide her for spreading herself too thin, but the truth is I’m proud to know her and a bit envious of the contributions she makes to the state, particularly to the humanities.

One of the things I thought I would do when I retired was volunteer. Over the years, feeling the need to make some sort of contribution, I’ve tried various things: a stint at the Museum of Science and History, giving kids talks on beach trash and its dangers, a session with an on-line volunteer program that had me coaching young writing students via the internet—it turned out to be so poorly administered that I gave up. My vision of volunteer work is working more at my church (there was a period when I did a lot of that), making sandwiches at the local night shelter, being a museum docent, the hands-on kind of stuff.

But it has dawned on me that I do a lot of volunteer work, for causes I care about, right here at my computer. I am a volunteer monitor one day a week for the Sister in Crime listserv; I am a member of the steering committee and membership chair for Guppies, the Going to be Published sub-group of Sisters in Crime (publication does not mean automatic expulsion from the group). I edit my neighborhood monthly newsletter, which often runs into a 20-page publication, and each week I welcome first-time visitors to University Christian Church—by phone if I can catch them and by email if not. I actively promote rescue dogs and sites on Facebook because animal welfare is a subject I am passionate about.

And I’ve done my bit in the past, as president and longtime board member of Western Writers of America, chair of Church and the Arts Committee at my church, secretary of the Texas Institute of Letters.

So maybe it’s dawning on me that I’m not the sloth that I thought I was. I do contribute to my own special world and more important the things that I do keep me involved. That, besides having meaningful work, is what I hope will keep me young in spirit as my body ages. I truly believe being involved in the world is essential to the happy life.

Hobnobbing with the literati-Texas style

Tonight was the biennial induction into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame sponsored by the Friends of the Fort Worth Public Library. It was a grand event--hors d'oevres and plentiful wine aside, the best part was that I saw and got to hug a lot of people I really like. It felt like being home--and then I realized how lucky I was to feel at home among so many accomplished authors.
My favorite mystery writer, Deborah Crombie, was the master of ceremonies--but we chatted mostly about dogs, not books. The honorees were Sarah Bird, who is a good friend and once stayed in my garage apartment; Carole Nelson Douglas, another good friend that I see once a month at Book Ladies breakfast; Robert Flynn--he and his wife are special to me and I'm proud that while I was at TCU Press we reprinted and published several of his novels; Leon Hale, whose wife is a good Facebook friend and a former publishing colleague (we both got out of the business to a certain extent)--Leon was not able to be there and Jim Lee accepted for him; Stephen Harrigan, a Texas Institute of Letters colleague who we honored once with the TCU Texas Book Award and whose Gates of the Alamo is a book I much admire; Joe Lansdale, who I used to know a lifetime ago in Western Writers of America--it was fun to say hello, tell each other it's been a long time, and how are you doing now?; Rosalyn Story, whom I"m sorry to say I don't know and didn't meet tonight; and Jane Roberts Wood, another special person.
There were others there--a friend who hugged me and said she loved my blog (are you reading this, Gay?), another member of the Book Ladies, and a former Book Lady I haven't seen in forever. I'm not in such a mass of authors and readers often and it was a real treat. Fran and Ross Vick, who are special people in my sphere of friends for lots of reasons; Bob Compton, once book editor of the Dallas Morning News--now we keep in touch through Facebook. I'm sure I'm missing others. Thanks to Jim Lee for chaffeuring me.
Lovely evening.

Among the Texas literati

Tonight was the annual banquet of the Texas Institute of Letters, and it was a grand night for TCU Press. The two major awards went to our authors--one to Jan Reid for the best novel, Comanche Sundown (TCU Press, 2010) and the lifetime achievement award (Lon Tinkle Award) to C. W. Smith, who has published several novels with us, including the forthcoming Steplings, a book about which we are all excited. (Sorry, folks, but I still consider myself a part of TCU Press in retirement.) In addition, two of our books were finalists in their categories--Edmund J. Davis of Texas, by Carl Moneyhon in the nonfiction category, and Smurglets are Everywhere, poetry by Alan Birkelbach with illustrations by Susan Halbower, in the juvenile category.
It was a fine evening of seeing old friends, people I've missed and wanted to see, meeting new people, seeing some I didn't know well but wanted to know better. I got hugs from Bob and Jean Flynn, Bob Compton, Fran Vick, Barbara Whitehead and Bruce; I visited with Susan Wittig Albert, a fellow mystery writer (she much more established than I), and said hello to countless people, some of whom have published with TCU and some not.
TIL is 75 years old this year, an organization founded to promote the appreciation of the literature of Texas. Membership is by invitation only, though the banquet, meetings, and awards are open to anyone. Sometimes in that group people's egos get in the way, but for the most part is a collegial bunch of writers who cheer for and support each other. TIL, with UT Austin, sponsors two annual six-month writing fellowships--fellows get to spend six months at J. Frank Dobie's Paisano Ranch devoting their time to writing, with rent and modest living expenses paid. Over the years, TIL has wisely elected young people to membership so that it's not one of those groups where everyone will go old at once.
All told, I'm proud to belong to it, and pleased to have been at the banquet in Dallas tonight. After all, I don't get to many banquets--and rarely to Dallas. We got stuck in an awful traffic jam on the bridge over the Trinity leading to downtown Dallas--there was no alternate route by which to escape. So maybe that's why I don't go to Dallas much.