Edmonton, Alberta
APRIL 17, 2007
We spent the day in Edmonton, Alberta, talking to media about our book (just days away from the U.S. launch). Edmonton, in case you didn't know, is a provincial captial at a latitude further north than Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. Spring had finally sprung, however. By mid-morning, it was about 10 degrees Celsius (50 F), and what one local called a "true Albertan" was cycling through town with his shirt off.
We were up early, so when we first heard that someone had opened fire at Virginia Tech, the TV anchors were saying that one person had died.
We went from media outlet to media outlet, talking about local food and the need to rebuild community. We attempted the impossible--trying in front of TV cameras to get something across of the soul of a book. We had no idea until late afternoon that no one out there was listening anymore, and that today only one news story mattered.
When our day was done, we heard how many had died. We sat down at a bar. I was surprised that the TVs weren't tuned into the news, but then I overheard the bartender's explanation."We were watching it all afternoon," he said. "Then finally someone said, 'We're tired of blood and gore. Can you turn the channel to 24?'"
There's a lot a person could read into that. -JBM
