Stoutsburg Sourland
African American Museum

Friday's Memory, November 10, 2018

 

There is a line in the book “To a Mouse,” written by Robert Burns that says, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” This past Wednesday our first book launch took place at the Grounds For Sculpture. We dreamed of this day for months; how we would finally be able thank our guests for their support with an evening of celebration. The plan was to start at 6:00 however out on the roads it was a different story because I-95, 295 and the main arteries connecting to these highways, were hopelessly gridlocked. Each road had turned into parking lot where all one could see were endless beams of headlights creeping at glacial speed unable to turn around or move in another direction. The estimated wait time was over an hour to sit in virtual gridlock!

 

I was able to make it to the event simply because of my husband’s knowledge of streets and where they connect from when he worked for FedEX two decades ago. However, the story was different for poor Elaine who, when she arrived, practically hit the door begging for a glass of wine to calm her nerves which were frazzled beyond repair!

 

By this time I was starting to feel myself calming down as I watched our guests starting to trickle in. From the looks on their faces each person arrived with their own personal horror story of how they had to battle the traffic. We watched as people started to decompress and make their way to tables and, more importantly for some, to the bar!

 

In the twinkling of an eye what was just a few turned into many. We look at each other, breathed a sigh of relief and opened the evening by expressing our gratitude. And what looked like a doomed evening turned out to be the celebration we envisioned – and then some. Because when a door is closed, windows will open.

 

Now we want to thank all our loyal readers for cheering us on to reach the finish line! Our over a decade’s worth of research, fundraising and writing has culminated into a finished product that leaves us humbled and grateful that we had the support of each and every one of you!

 

So, if you’re in the area please join us at our next book launch on Saturday, November 17th at the Hopewell Bistro at 15 E. Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ from 1:00 -4:00 where the owner (and our dear friend) Susan Molnar, will be whipping up some delicious gumbo and cornbread while we sign books! If you can’t make it are would rather order a book, please follow the link posted below. Otherwise we’d love to see you on the 17th and hopefully there won’t be any gridlock!

 

Warmly,

Beverly and Elaine

 

P.S. We want to send a thank you to Heidi Wilenius for taking photos of the event at the Grounds for Sculpture on November 7th. Here are a couple of her shots of the evening!

To purchase our book go to:
https://www.wildriverconsultingandpublishing.com/…/if-thes…/

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