Bakersfield was a blast! Five schools, a young authors' conference, a barbecue, and a banquet in six days. The weather was cooperative and spared us the sometimes brutal temperatures that sometime plague the area. Best of all was getting to meet up with long-time, dear friends and newer friends: Debbie and Lloyd Wakelee, Sandra Yoon, Helen Foster James, Susan Goldman Rubin, and others. The children in the schools were all well prepared and eager to ask their questions. At Berkshire Elementary, one young man laughed when I explained that I'd tried BMX freestyle myself. When asked why he laughed, he got wide-eyed and said rather timidly, "Because you're old and grumpy." I'm sure he meant that he just didn't think somebody as old as me could do any tricks on a bicycle without serious injury. But "old and grumpy" is what came out of his mouth. At Stockdale Elementary, a student wrote me a thank you note that began, "Dear Larry Dane Grimner." Angie, from the same school, wrote: "Thank you for coming to are school and waisting your time." She went on to say, "You were great... ." So that made up for the "waisting your time" comment. But "Grimner" and "old and grumpy"? I was beginning to feel like the Rodney Dangerfield of children's literature--gettin' no respect!

Now I have a deadline hanging over my head, and I want to get a query off to my agent.