ART, YOU MADE MY DAY!

     In truth, his wife, Pat, was the instigator and he was the implementer.  I had an early hill ride today, leaving the afternoon for errands.  Things hadn't been going well.  Getting gas was ok, but the garden shop only had one brand of fungicide and wanted an arm and a leg for it, so I moved on.  Getting prescription was ok, but while they had vitamin B-12 (regular readers know I do a plant-based diet and need to supplement), they didn't stock Alfalfa (an allergen).  Next stop was Lowe's, who also only had one brand of fungicide.  Bummer!  The Euonymus are beginning to look powdery.  Next, Barnes and Noble didn't have the book I was looking for.
     I received an email this morning from Bicycle Sport Shop, advising that due to the crummy weekend weather, they had extended their fabulous sale.  This at the same time my bike gloves really started looking shabby after the last wash.  So, I ended  up at the Parmer BSS store.  Art made sure I found the gloves and explained that they had already taken down the sale signs when the word came of the extension, so he would advise what they cost once they were entered at the register.  Truthfully, there wasn't much variety from which to choose, but with my arthritic thumbs, I go for the good gel anyhow.
     As I handed over my credit card, Art looked and then asked: "Are you the Jerry Dusterhoff who has a blog and wrote the book?" or words to that effect.  I confessed to being one and the same.  He said his wife really liked my blog and my writing style and had just ordered my book.  My second book, Gotta Go! had just hit Amazon yesterday, so I quickly inquired as to which book she ordered.  Alas, it was Bicycle Journeys with Jerry.  I said I'd be happy to sign it when it came in, and we gave our mutual good-byes and I left.
     As I drove out of the parking lot, it occurred to me that a signing as I'd suggested was too much trouble, so turned around, grabbed a book out of the glove compartment, and returned to the store.  Art told me his wife's name, and I autographed it for her.  She can gift the other book to someone else who needs encouragement to take a cycling vacation.
     Anyhow, thanks Pat for reading my blog, and for ordering my book.  My second book is a better read, is an E-book available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble (the print edition is a few weeks away), and has links to over 1,000 of my photos.  And thanks Art for paying attention to your wife and remembering the author's name.