Barnes and Noble in Poughkeepsie was scheduled for the next day. We left Margie's home in the morning and arrived in Woodstock by one (with a stop at an optomotrist to repair Fran's bi-foculs which had fallen apart). We figured we had time for a rest, even a walk, before leaving at 5:15 for our 7:00 signing. It was nearly 3:00 when Barbara checked our blog and panicked. "The signing is at six, not seven!" she shouted. "We have to leave in five minutes!" Somehow we managed to dress, grab our poster and reading copies, and race out the door.
We arrived at the store just in time and took our seats at the table set up for us. A couple of people arrived and we waited for more. A woman came up to us and said she saw the name Pokras on the flyer posted at the entrance. "I went to college with a woman named Pokras and wondered if you were related," she said. Turned out that the Pokras woman she knew was Noreen, married to our first cousin, Dave. She happily joined us.
Our table happened to be positioned next to the Romance Novel section, and the women who approached turned out to be more interested in the Harlequins than in us. Then we spotted an older man carrying a copy of The Economist magazine. We invited him to join us. "I'm not really a fiction reader," he said, "but I'd like to sit for awhile."
We began our readings and Edward (we found out later that was his name) put down his magazine and listened intently. When we were done, he began the discussion which turned into a fascinating give and take about the pros and cons of nursing homes. He and Fran later engaged in a lively conversation about the Brooklyn Dodgers and how they never forgave Walter O'Malley for moving them to L.A. But that's another story.
And so the event in Poughkeepsie, while small, was stimulating and fun. We hope that Edward enjoys FEEDING MRS. MOSKOWITZ AND THE CAREGIVER. Who knows? Maybe he will discover the joys of fiction.
Fran
What they're saying about our new book:
"The elderly have quite a bit of wisdom, and often you'll get it whether you want it or not. "Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz & The Caregiver" is a pair of two novellas focusing on the topic of the elderly and their interactions with the people around them. 'Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz' is the story of the titular elderly lady and her encounters with a girl rapidly approaching middle age. 'The Caregiver' tells the tale of a caregiver and her job at an assisted living facility. "Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz & The Caregiver" is an enticing read that shouldn't be missed."
-- Midwest Review of Books
"The novellas are authentic, filled with believable characters and situations that resonate with our own life experiences. The stories are funny and poignant at the same time, teaching those who have not thought much about the aging process in the best way possible by fascinating and amazing us."
-- Anne M. Wyatt-Brown
"As someone who was the caregiver for two aging parents, both of whom lived into their nineties, I found Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz and The Caregiver: Two Stories by Barbara Pokras and Fran Yariv a delightful experience. It is a candid and humorous look at aging. .....It is well work reading whether one is a caregiver or not. This is a slice of life worth visiting."
-- Alan Caruba, Bookviews
"Caring for aging parents is one of the most common experiences sisters share, but few can transform their responsibility into bittersweet words of wisdom the way the Pokras sisters, Fran and Barbara, have done. This book, with its tender, funny, and revealing insights into the world of the elderly, is a must-read for every caretaker." -- Carol Saline, author of The New York Times bestseller, "Sisters"
"The novellas are beautiful little parables that are just not meant for caregivers or for the children of the elderly, bur for everyone -- as most of us will, eventually, take similar journeys to those taken by the residents of Sunset Hills, in one form or another." -- John McDonald, New York Journal of Books, award-winning novelist, screenwriter, playwright and graphic novel adaptor of the works of William Shakespeare.
-- Midwest Review of Books
"The novellas are authentic, filled with believable characters and situations that resonate with our own life experiences. The stories are funny and poignant at the same time, teaching those who have not thought much about the aging process in the best way possible by fascinating and amazing us."
-- Anne M. Wyatt-Brown
"As someone who was the caregiver for two aging parents, both of whom lived into their nineties, I found Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz and The Caregiver: Two Stories by Barbara Pokras and Fran Yariv a delightful experience. It is a candid and humorous look at aging. .....It is well work reading whether one is a caregiver or not. This is a slice of life worth visiting."
-- Alan Caruba, Bookviews
"Caring for aging parents is one of the most common experiences sisters share, but few can transform their responsibility into bittersweet words of wisdom the way the Pokras sisters, Fran and Barbara, have done. This book, with its tender, funny, and revealing insights into the world of the elderly, is a must-read for every caretaker." -- Carol Saline, author of The New York Times bestseller, "Sisters"
"The novellas are beautiful little parables that are just not meant for caregivers or for the children of the elderly, bur for everyone -- as most of us will, eventually, take similar journeys to those taken by the residents of Sunset Hills, in one form or another." -- John McDonald, New York Journal of Books, award-winning novelist, screenwriter, playwright and graphic novel adaptor of the works of William Shakespeare.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
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Some of our favorites to share:
- Barbara's favorite movies: "Precious" "Inglorius Bastards" "The Orange Thief" (never released theatrically), anything by Frederick Wiseman, and "Stop Making Sense" (I worked on this!)
- Fran likes "ALL ABOUT EVE" with Bette Davis
- Another of Fran's favorites -- FIELDWORK by Mischa Berlinski
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