>Thacker Mountain Radio Show

>Thursday was a wonderful day. On the lighter side, my left foot got out in the sunshine a bit (sans cast-boot) after a pedicure and polish with my favorite color, “Caffeinated.” Ahhh…. Here are those toes on my patio. Big toe is looking pretty straight (and yeah, the scar is healing) and feeling better every day, thank God.

Our Valentine’s outing to Oxford was delightful. The Thacker Mountain Radio Show at Off Square Books was great fun. My husband had a good time catching up with Square Books Owner (and the Mayor of Oxford) Richard Howorth. They were fraternity brothers at Ole Miss, almost 40 years ago, and hadn’t seen each other since 1970. Here’s a nice article about Square Books in Vanity Fair …and a picture of Richard and his wife, Lisa, at their bookstore (left).
The show was a combination of musical guests, Giant Bear and the Jake Leg Stompers, and a third group whose name I’m sorry to say I didn’t get. Some of them were from Memphis, but I hadn’t heard them play before. Funkabilly and bluegrass and… fun. Giant Bear did a pretty good rendition of “Jolene.” (at right)

But the main reason for our trip was to meet Kim Sunée and hear her read from her book, Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home. (Kim was adopted from South Korea when she was three.) I’m reading it now and will do a full review later.

She and Sara Roahen, author of Gumbo Tales, took the stage together, commenting on each other’s books, life in New Orleans, and the place food plays in our life journeys. It was the most interesting and creative book reading I’ve ever attended. Afterwards we bought autographed books, then joined one of my writing group buddies, Patti Trippeer, for dinner at Boure before driving back to Memphis. Talk about a small world… during dinner I learned that Patti and a high school friend of mine from Jackson (MS) are cousins! I’ve known A.B. (Clark) Nichols (right) since ninth grade, and I only met Patti last summer. The South really is just one big small town!

Oh, and I forgot to share my Valentine’s Day roses from my sweet husband. He put them in the vase that my dear friend, Urania, gave us for our anniversary last summer. It was one of her original wedding gifts. Every year on their anniversary, Andy (her husband) would bring her roses and put them in this same vase. I think of Urania and Andy every time I get roses for the vase now.