Wow! What a fun-jam-packed weekend it was here in Omaha. Here's how the weekend played out:
Thursday night: My wife and I went to the book launch of Ted Kooser's new book, Lights on a Ground of Darkness. If you don't know, Mr. Kooser is a big shot in the poetry world, Poet Laureate a few years back. I have read many of his poems and admire the simpleness of his verse with a deepness of philosophy that makes you want to pause and think for a while after you've finished the poem. I was really surprised as to how small and fragile he was. He read a few poems and read a few excerpts from his book, which I bought and got autographed, but more than anything, he answered questions from the audience which was really helpful for an aspiring writer. As he was signing my book, I told him I would like to hold a poetry workshop based on his "Poetry Home Repair Manual" for the kids at Boys Town. I really think a lot of my students would like this as many of them have had a difficult upbringing and I'm sure they write poetry to express their emotions. He wished me luck with that project and I thanked him.
Friday night: Nights with a bottle of wine at the couch and a movie are always good nights, except the movie was pretty bad, The Line, don't rent it, unless there is absolutely nothing else, even then, maybe even watch TV instead. Though, I will give props to Blockbuster for having a Latino Heritage section during this month, this is where we found that movie and also a movie called, Máncora, which was a really good movie.
Saturday: The day started out with me waking up at 6:30 and begin to work on my presentation for this coming Tuesday on Chicano Literature. I think I should be fully prepared or at least 90% ready. I plan to give the presentation to my students at Boys Town.
At 1pm, my wife and I headed downtown for participate in the Omaha Lit Fest. There was a panel on how to be a writer in economic hardship, such as the one we are in. It was really informative, mainly information on how to use blogs to further your writing style, promote yourself and build an audience. But probably the most I got from this panel was being able to meet two Latina writers, Joy Castro and Amelia Maria de la Luz Montes. I knew that both of these writer would be there and I wanted to introduce myself as they are successful writers here in Nebraska. I still haven't read any of their books, but I have already put them on my MUST READ list. I was very excited to know that Joy Castro would like to talk at Boys Town some time in the future about the struggles youth can have. I know that her book, Truth, deals with adolescent struggles. I really hope I can coordinate with her and the school to get her to talk with our students.
After the Lit Fest, we headed for Old Chicago with some friends to see the Husker's play. Sad day for the Husker's, they lead the whole game, only to loose it in the last minutes. Oh well, maybe next time.
It seemed to be a great day, with still the Creighton Soccer game to attend and a Fashion Show later that night, but oh how things changed. My car got towed! I was so mad at myself. When I arrived at the Lit Fest I knew that it was a little risky to park the car in that spot, but I figured I would be ok for an hour and I could move it after the panel was done. Nope I completely forgot and so my poor car was towed. $180 to get it back that night. Damn, I was so mad at myself. Well, it was a lesson learned.
Sunday morning: 10k race. Did I finish? You betcha! Am I hurting? Of course! Did my wife beat me in the race? Well, we all knew that she would, so no surprise. I am so proud of her, because she ran the whole 6 miles without stopping! You go girl! So it was overall a great weekend, Omaha needs to have more weekends like this, or we need to find out about more of these events!
