Mae talk draws a crowd

There was a nice turnout at the Rochester Hills Public Library for my Life with Mae talk Feb. 10. There were probably 50-60 people there - mostly over the age of 70. As Dad used to say about the Depends-dependent crowds he drew for his talks, "There wasn't a dry seat in the house." Francis Cook, who used to sit next to us at the Lions game at the Dome, was there. So was the woman whom Dad lent his letter sweater to in high school when she lost a button on her blouse. Phylly, not surprisingly, was not pleased. Dad later wrote a column about it. I signed a book for this woman a year ago and Mom still scrunched her nose at the mention of her name (and they talked about Dad holding grudges). Sold 19 books, which was nice. Javan Kienzle is going to write to more libraries and groups to see if they'll come have me speak. Maybe I'll start using the honorariums for the cottage beer fund. The $100 last night went to Gift of Reading.