Ah, home.... We're back to get our underwear washed before heading out again for Atlanta and Houston. Cinderella has been with me for a bunch of the tour so far. I've been on the road for thirteen days straight. You wouldn't believe the journey so far. I hung out with Mexican masked wrestlers in Las Cruces, visited Teresita's house in El Paso, was attacked be angry bees in Albuquerque, had a flat on I-25 and heard a phantom atomic bomb go off in the distance--it actually shook the earth. I had Mayor Wynn of Austin declare it Luis Urrea Day. I went on CNN twice--once in Spanish. I stayed in a hotel with the biggest bathroom I ever saw. We made many friends. Have read with a bunch of authors. Became big buds with Carole Radziwill, which seems unlikely, but that's why it's so cool. At Duke, I spied on Tom Wolfe--he really does wear spats! Much to tell, and much more to come. I'll be blasting out of here on Friday for the next legs of the tour. Somehow, I have to do final grades! Oh yeah, the day job. Huh. I forgot all about it. In Richmond, VA, speaking for the Junior League banquet, we met 1275 readers. I have been keeping a Wastelander's Notebook of it all, and I promise to post it as soon as I get a minute. You'll want to see pictures of me wearing my Lucha Libre mask! I'll look for you in Atlanta, Houston, Boston, NYC, DC, Albuquerque, San Jose/SF, Tucson, Aspen and Fishtrap. But right now, I'm going to sleep because my head is whirling and I'm so tired I am not even excited that the turkeys have now apparently brought wild ducks into our yard to argue with our cat. Go out and read Debra Dean's Madonnas of Leningrad--it's worth your money. ----L

# posted by Luis @ 5:54 PM