Another Milestone, Plus a Fabulous Wedding

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May 4th, 2017

I know what you’re saying (or thinking). It’s, “Oh yeah, that blog guy Wilber is touting another milestone day for the book he started back before I was born. Give us a book already!” Right? Well, I know it seems like that, even more so to me, but we did have another major milestone this week and we’re down to the last step. I swear.

The first part was keeping a promise I made to myself, and it was harder to keep than I’d anticipated. I got Galley Proof No. 3 back from the publisher and all I did was double-check that all 49 edits I’d sent them the week before had been made, and made correctly. I felt that familiar feeling wash over me, the one that says, “Just sleep on it one more night” or even worse, “Just go through the whole book, all 545 pages, one more time. Just to be safe.” The promise I’d made was to not give in to that.

I’ve made so many editing passes through the book I have parts of it memorized, and that makes further edits even more difficult because I have a hard time reading any of it as if it’s something I’ve never seen before. Plus, with each Galley Proof the edits shifted from being about 80% typos to really only being about 5% typos the last time around. Instead, most of the edits in Proof No. 3 were style changes, cleaning up clunky sentences that had been bugging me. As I’ve said before, I’m relatively certain there are still a few goof-ups in there, but I’m not going to find them. If you buy it, they’ll probably leap out at you like a scene in a 3-D movie.

But, and this was the key thing, even making one more tiny edit would cost me another week, in what now feels like an endless string of weeks that turned into months that turned into years. It’s been a long but thoughtful process, and I knew I was ready to send it off totally approved and submitted for print. I’m not kidding when I tell you that I had to mentally tell myself, “No, you’re not going to lunch. And no, you’re not going to sleep on it. You’re going to move that cursor, position it over the button that says ‘Submit’ and send it off. Do it.” I actually think I held my breath when I did it.

Yesterday, I got a note back from my rep at Outskirts Press and she confirmed the submission and relayed the word that the last real thing they needed from my end was the cover. Todd Myers, who designed the cover, is currently waiting to finish it. All we need are the precise and completely accurate dimensions for the spine. I’m waiting for that right now, so if I get that email I’ll play the theme music while I dash away to take care of that and pass it along to Todd. Once he can marry the front and back to the spine, we’ll have a cover.

And that brings us to the elephant standing in the corner. “So when is it going to be for sale?”

Once the cover is submitted (after they give us the dimensions) it could be as soon as four weeks. Maybe five. Six at the outside, but I’m thinking more like 4-5 weeks. After 16 months of writing and editing, I can deal with that.

I also asked if we would have a pre-order date for sites like Amazon, where you can go buy the book now and then get it when it’s finally released, but the answer was no. The way Outskirts works, we have to wait for it to be fully available and then it will go on sale. As we get closer, I’ll be able to be more specific with all of that.

So, you see it was another milestone this week. It’s the first time the book is completely and utterly out of my hands to the point where I’m not even allowed to make any more silly nitpicking changes. It’s off for publication. If they’d just give me those pesky dimensions. C’mon, man. You’re killin’ me, Smalls.

So that all happened this week. Last week’s highlight, after Thursday’s blog, happened in Atlanta and it was truly spectacular and very heartwarming.

My niece Lauren, reading a poem for the bride and groom. (Click to enlarge)

My nephew Simon, a gem of man who has done some great charitable things with his life, became friends with a lovely girl named Molly many years ago. Molly was (if I’m getting this story straight) a student who worked with my sister Cindy at Stanford, where Cindy runs the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Cindy is Simon’s mom. Simon and Molly hit it off and were fast friends for many years. At one point, a decade or so into their friendship, they realized they were more than just friends. It took them a while to figure it out, but on Saturday night we all got to be part of one of the most wonderful and scenic weddings I’ve ever attended.

It was an outdoor wedding at an incredible home, nestled in the woods above the Chattahoochee River. The home has been in Molly’s family for generations, and the initial phase of it was built in 1945. And, wait for it… The ceremony took place at the amphitheater in the back yard. Yes indeed. A real amphitheater. The dinner and reception followed and it was all marvelous. And for the record, I’m able to say with great certainty that Simon and Molly are a perfect couple. And the seated dinner was pretty terrific, as well. Overall, on a 1 to 10 scale I’d rate the entire evening a 30.

Left to right: Sister Cindy, brother Del, his wife Kay, niece Rhiannon, sister Mary, and standing is brother Rick

For my siblings and me, it as also one of those far-too-rare occasions when we were all together. All five of us, including my sister Mary and her husband Lonnie, who flew in all the way from their home in Kauai and were joined by four of their kids, a son-in-law, a boyfriend-in-law (you know what I mean) and two grandchildren. It was a Wilber / Smith reunion of the highest order.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a more beautiful wedding, and I can say with absolute certainty that I’ve never been to a wedding in such a spectacular setting. But, and this is important, the best thing was the feeling of family. Watching such a fine man marry the girl of his dreams. Meeting Molly, knowing immediately that these two will be a far greater entity than the simple sum of their two parts. And, being with all of my brothers and sisters, to celebrate something really special. It was fantastic. It was beyond rich.

We caught up on stories and lives, we shared memories, and we laughed a lot. That last part was really important. It seems like we’re in that place in our lives where a reunion of the five Wilber kids is usually for a sad reason. This was joyous.

What a bunch of stiffs…

There was a photo booth at the dinner, and I was happily surprised to hear my oldest brother Del say, “C’mon, you grab Mary and I’ll get Cindy and Rick. We all have to do this.” We did one normal shot, and then all raced over to the “props” table they had nearby. The more normal photo was fine, but this is priceless. I’m the youngest of the bunch, and I’m 60. This is the Wilber family in all their fantastic glory. Too bad we can’t find a way to loosen up and have some fun.

We stayed in the Midtown section of Atlanta, and although I’ve been through Atlanta too many times to count I’ve never really “been” there that much. A few of us stayed at the Loew’s Atlanta while the rest stayed at a Hampton Inn nearby, and we were able to get out and explore the sidewalk cafe’s and the cool vibe of that part of town.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden was within walking distance, so we headed up there early in the afternoon before the wedding, with Rhiannon’s kids in tow as well. It’s located in Piedmont Park, a true urban oasis in the middle of a gigantic city, and the park itself was fantastic. There wasn’t a softball field, a beach volleyball court, or a square acre of grass that wasn’t being utilized, and the whole place was buzzing with youth and excitement. Just watch out for those rollerbladers.

More family in Row 2, Section 1, Field Boxes. Nephew Ewan, niece Kim’s husband Chris, and Kim herself.

All in all, a fantastic time in Hotlanta. And, to add to my good news, when I got to MSP to fly down there on Friday I passed the new “Clear” area and took five entire minutes to sign up for that very useful tool. It’s only in major airports right now, but having it at MSP (and at ATL) made the entire airport experience a much better thing. They scan your eyes, your retinas actually, and take digital fingerprints. Once you scan your passport the kiosk asks a few questions to make sure you are who you say you are, and you’re done. I walked straight from the kiosk to the Clear aisle at TSA and stared into the scanner. A second later, I was approved and was then escorted directly to the head of the Pre-Check line. I was through TSA in 10 seconds, max.

Okay, the fact that they could scan your passport and basically know everything about you within seconds was a little disconcerting, but the fact is they (whoever “they” are) already know everything about all of us, so if it keeps me out of TSA lines I’ll take advantage of it. Some of my questions were as specific as “Which of these five car models have you NEVER owned?” Four of them were cars I had indeed owned, going back more than 20 years. Crazy… I’m not paranoid. They really are following me!

So that’s about it for this week. In case you’re wondering, I have not had to play the theme music because I have not yet gotten the dimensions for the cover. Can’t have a cover without a spine. Well, you could for a pamphlet, but at about 545 pages you’re going to need that spine to hold it all together.

We’re just weeks away, gang. Once I get a better feel for the publication date I’ll start mapping out some races to attend. We’ll get the book into a souvenir stand and, since I’ll be selling those directly without Outskirts or Amazon, or any other sales outlet, being involved, I’ll be able to offer a little discount. I’m not allowed to mess with the price when the publisher or the retailer are in the mix.

It would be overly optimistic to think I could make it out there by Norwalk (June 22-25) but I think it might be reasonable to think I could be in Joliet (July 6-9) with books in hand. I’ll keep you posted. Denver, Seattle, Brainerd, Indy, and beyond are all legit targets. I can’t make Sonoma, but for another very good reason. One of Barb’s nieces is getting married, in Colorado, that weekend. I’m getting into this whole wedding thing.

See you next week. And remember…  If you read this and you liked it, please “Like” it by clicking on the button at the top. The more likes the merrier.

Bob Wilber, at your service and uncle of the groom.

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