BUZZ BOOK T42

DAY ONE

Ron and I have arrived in Washington, “The Evergreen State.” We have crossed through the Peace Arch, we have our travel insurance documents secure in the glove compartment, (who wears gloves anymore?) and we have just received a shock. Contrary to our erroneous assumption, Tacoma, the site of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Fall Tradeshow, is SOUTH of Seattle, and not NORTH, where Everett appears to be. We will have to pass through the heart of downtown Seattle! This is an unsettling thought, given that traversing elevated urban freeway corridors, with six lanes of traffic going in one direction and six lanes going in another, is not what residents of Nanoose Bay BC are accustomed to driving in.

            But not to worry. There has been a collision on the freeway near Everett and traffic in all lanes, north and south, has slowed to a start-stutter-stop pace and we have ample leisure to contemplate routes and roots and exits. Eventually, four hours later, we work our through the American Dream cum nightmare and arrive at Exit 129 in South Tacoma.

I wonder what Chief Seattle would think of his land now. How would he translate “Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself”?

            At the Hampton Inn and Suites we are instantly greeted with a panoply of peoples. There is a convocation of a dozen or so black ladies of varying ages in colourful dresses celebrating something or other and groups of families conversing in Spanish. At the elevator we are greeted by eight youthful couples dressed to the nines (whatever that means). The men are in military dress regalia whose insignias and stripes I cannot decipher. The women are gorgeous in long gowns, high heels and elegantly coiffed hair.

            We enter the now vacant elevator, press 2 and wait expectantly. Nothing happens. Eventually we see the sign that tells us we need to use our room key to activate the elevator. Once inside our room, Ron stretches out on the bed and we channel surf, amazed to discover the number of college football games we could tune into.

DAY TWO

The Tradeshow is in the heart of downtown Tacoma in the lovely (dare I say chic) Hotel Murano. Ron and I have arrived at the hotel via the backroads—south Hosmer, south 72^nd, south Yakima, 15^th Street, and Broadway. We are calm, having avoided Interstate 5, travelling the quiet streets of residential Tacoma, which, if truth be told, look a bit down at the heels.

            We find Ron and Veronica Hatch of Ronsdale Press in the southwest corner of the Pavilion which houses the Tradeshow. They are with the other publishers who are representing British Columbia with a sizable presence—Orca Books, Harbour Publishing, The Heritage Group of Publishers, Greystone Books, Arsenal Pulp Press, Theytus Books and the Royal BC Museum. (Apologies to any publisher I have missed.)

            Ron takes his place on a chair in the middle of the aisle beside the sign announcing Buzz Book T 42, THE DEFIANT MIND – Living Inside a Stroke. Most publishers have selected one of their titles to be their Buzz Book for the show. It is up to booksellers to get their “passports” stamped each time they visit a Buzz Book. The completed passports will be entered into a draw for a $100 prize. For the next six hours Ron engages booksellers and librarians from Juneau and Skagway in Alaska; Enumclaw, Clarkton, Bellingham, Tacoma, Seattle, Port Angeles, Shelton, Yakima, Leavenworth, Friday Harbor, and Bainbridge Island in Washington; Sisters, McMinneville, Portland,  and Hood River in Oregon; Coeur d”Alene, Boise and Moscow in Idaho; and a sales representative from Arcata, California to mention most of the visitors who talk with Ron at Ronsdale Press’s booth. There is a lot of interest in his book because, as Ron states in his Preface:

            “Every forty seconds someone

              In North America suffers a stroke.

              Every four minutes someone in

              North America dies from a stroke.

              Stroke is the leading cause of disability

              in North America.”

            These days booksellers are keen to hold events to promote their stores in their local communities. Many of their communities have hospitals, colleges, universities, nursing schools, and so on. And since Ron has book and will travel, chances are good that we will be heading south of the 49^th in the spring, if not before. We will, however, do our best to avoid Interstate 5.