This Book-Launch Party was a "Gift from the Gods"

...Because I won it! Remember my new business card, with the book cover on it? I blogged about it back in late Feb... Well, the very first one of those cards that I "deployed" went into a fishbowl at ONE UP RESTAURANT & LOUNGE (301 Central SW, 2nd floor, in downtown Albuquerque), on 2/28 ---coincidentally the day amazon.com started shipping the book----and darn if someone from One Up didn't eventually pluck my card out again, thereby winning me a Happy Hour for 15 Fab Folks. Hooray!
Of course, my esteemed coauthor, Dr. Peggy Spencer, was there --- as were at least a couple o' margaritas!

"This one goes out to the one I love!" Looks like I'm pointing at the book, but in fact I'm pointing at Richard Towne, my mate of 28 years. (Notched that mark just last week, we did!) As manager of legendary Albuquerque public radio station KUNM, RT was plenty ready to celebrate, as on the very day of our anniversary, he completed a gruelling 3-year project to sign on FOUR brand-new stations, to carry KUNM's signal strongly into Secorro, Española, Las Vegas (NM), and Taos! Congrats to us both!
Mike & Kathy Lord, our dearest friends in town -- the ones we never hardly see, because they don't actually live in town -- had to shove off early, back toward their lovely A-frame in the Sandias, and a dear & diabetic dog. So great to see them! Kathy's in the book, by the way -- she kicks off "Way 36: (En)Lighten Up, Dude!"

The local TV news showed up, which was mighty impressive, I must admit -- at least until we realized they were only there to collect opinions from the party next to ours, about crime in the downtown area. Ho-hum!


Paul Ingles opened right up to the chapter he helped me with: "Way 23: Shake It Up Baby, Now!"

"Mmm, decisions, decisions!" Peggy and Mary B pore over the menu. Appetizers a'plenty were part of the prize.




And now I see that a whole middle section of photos went missing, while I futzed to get the text in there (almost) properly, up to this point. So let me call this Part One and ask you to scroll on!