I’m sitting in the apartment with Bob, and we’ve both got computers going. It’s sad really. Every now and then he snickers and reads something to me. About nuns.
We walked through the village and down into Soho to the Apple store because he woke up and stepped on his power cord and it wouldn’t work any more. Bob without a computer is not a pretty thought. Most of the way we argued about this movie he’d just seen which he insisted was called Heaven Can Have Her. I said, “No, I know that movie, it was Leave Her To Heaven, it’s a quote from Hamlet.” He told me I was wrong. For miles, he told me I was wrong. Then we got back and I checked the IMDB and said, “Leave Her To Heaven.” He said, “That’s what I said.” Now he’s looking up nuns on the internet because he wants the heroine of the solo book he’s working on to be a nun. (Some of you may remember Abigail from the old He Wrote She Wrote blog.) He’s also suggesting that I should be a nun. Or teach at a convent school. Or . . . well, it depends on what Google entry he’s reading.
I called my doc this morning, and she told me I had a tetanus shot in Nov. 2004, so I’m good with the lockjaw problem. In fact I walked all over with Bob who complained the entire time that his feet were going to hurt tomorrow. I finally said, “Hey, I’m the one with the hole in my foot.” He said, “I know, I’m surprised it doesn’t hurt.” I said, “It hurts, I’m being brave.” He said, “Uh huh.” Then he made fun of me because I wouldn’t cross against the light. Then two blocks later I crossed against the light and he yelled at me for being careless. I said, “But back there, you said–” He said, “You didn’t even look.” I said, “So I only get points if I do it on purpose?” He said, “Yes.” Then he crossed against the light without looking.
He just read out loud, “The average age of nuns today is sixty-nine,” and then added, “You’re a puppy.”
So earlier today, I had lunch with Jen and showed her my Curio stuff and she loved it. You can actually pitch a book with pictures, I was amazed. And she said she could “see” Always Kiss Me Goodnight better than You Again, probably because it was all one picture (it’s the one I posted here) instead of being divided into four acts/boards like YA. Or maybe I just have a better grip on that story. Anyway, it was a great lunch.
Bob just said, “I think you could still write.” So it’s okay if he sells me into a nunnery because I can still collaborate. I told him I’m Lutheran. He said they have Lutheran nuns. Then he went back to researching. He appears to be serious about making the heroine a nun. He grew up going to Catholic schools, maybe it’s something to do with that?
So anyway, my foot is really throbbing right now, but it has stopped bleeding and I’m not going to get lockjaw–I think Bob was a little disappointed–so Mollie and I are on for the walking all over tomorrow. Bob is leaving first thing in the morning, having just dashed into town at the last minute without telling anybody which is why you should ignore the pathetic moaning he’s doing on his blog–if you don’t tell people you’re coming in, they can’t save a lunch date for you–and is now dashing out again.
Bob just said, “I don’t think the nun thing is going to work for this book.” YA THINK?
We’re living the dream in New York City.
It sounds just like the old days, LTD, the Bickersons, travel :sigh: (I’ve been doing that a lot on your blog) BUt it’s good. Glad to know that Bob’s computer is functioning again, that you’re still walking and the snark is back.
Children, children, children… Boy, Bob loves to push your buttons, Jenny!
I was just about to issue a “poor baby” to the moaner on that ‘other’ blog, but somehow I knew there were mitigating circumstances.
Glad you foot is better and you are not going to get lockjaw. Of course, if your jaw were locked, Bob wouldn’t have any fun teasing you any more, so it’s all good.
Have fun with Mollie tomorrow!
Agnes done yet?
Glad to see that you are still living the dream. Too bad the nun thing isn’t going to work (for the book, not for you.)
Sounds like a “hit and run” by Bob. You never did say if the phone call that caused your foot injury was worth it. Glad you won’t be coming down with lock jaw. Have fun with Mollie.
Sorry to hear about your foot! Take care. If Bob finds the nun back on again and needs her in Illinois, I have the perfect convent with Bohemian nuns and a stone garden. . .
Tell him that you’re good with the chastity, but the obedience might be a deal-breaker.
I don’t know…my friend the ex-nun is one of the most interesting and contradictory people I’ve ever met. I’d read a whole book about her but it would drive librarians nuts by defying categorization!
Of course, my apologies about your foot – but I’m comforted to know that tetanus shot = no lock jaw. There’s one more worry eliminated through blog reading.
I’m a little disappointed to discover there will be no “heroic nun saves the world from being blown up” book. Well if Bob is writing it you have to assume something is going to get blown up, or threatened to at least. Readers have expectations ya know.
Glad to know the foot is doing well and lock jaw is not iminent. Say hi to Mollie for us.
Jenny, Get a cup of cocoa, a few strawberries and sit down, put your foot up and relax. Maybe Bob can massage your shoulders or something. That might make him feel usful and appricated since he just blew into town and seems to think the world is avoiding him.
The school I went to in 5th and 6th grade was attached to a convent. It was kind of strange, but interesting. And I love to Google. Found myself recently quoted on some blog I’d never seen before about how to dispose of bodies. that was really weird.
Glad the foot is doing better.
Nuns? We’re back to nuns? Whatever happened to the vampires?
For the throbbing foot: stick it in a bowl of tepid water which contains a little milk and a few drops of lavender oil. Great for reducing swelling.
OK, I know last year almost killed you, but man-oh-man, do your travels with Bob result in some funny stuff.
Just glad the nun isn’t a mernun. really. And Bob does know nuns do take a “thou shalt not kill even in a book” vow, right?
Keep keeping your foot up.
Happy to read things are the “same old, same old” and you are once again enjoying NY with Bob.
What a very cool little widget box in your side bar with information on the writing blog! I must follow the link …
Too bad about the nun thing not working out. It sounds intriguing, but maybe Bob Googled “nuns” and “dress code” and realised they no longer wear those long medieval robes and wimples, except in movies and memories.
Jenny’s stepping on nails, Bob’s tripping on cords…Is your next collaboration slapstick? Is there a market for slapstick nuns?
Glad the pitches went well. More books for me!
I’m stuck, all this talk of Nuns and walking, and tripping and LTD . . . has me stuck in flashbacks to the Blues Brothers. . . A Nun, Missions from God, car chases, big cities, small towns, things blowing up, and good music.
I wonder what the HWSW, Bob & Jenny, Jenny & Bob soundtrack would include?
Certainly the Dixie Chicks.
Ya know, I remember the CB’s sketched a story out with nuns, guns, a boat named The Character Arc, an island, sex changes, and Rene. Surely Bob could just tweak it a little and turn it into a fabulous novel.
Jenny, I know how much you LOVE hearing excerpts from our personal lives, so this is just for you: My DS21 called yesterday to tell me he had managed to step on a sharp stick while wearing flip flops and it gouged a big bloody hole in the bottom of his foot. He was a little confused about why that news caused a brief snort of laughter. I then made all the appropriate mother noises and insisted he call the university health service about whether he needed a tetanus shot. He called back later to say they told him he’d had one in Sep. 2003, so he was good.
Astute individual that I am, all this seemed vaguely familiar. Well, they say things run in threes so you know I had to ask the question. Really I did. Lucky for him, no one has told him recently he should become a nun. He was not amused that I would even wonder about such a thing. Probably won’t answer his phone next time I call.
I’ve decided you’re a bad influence.
Glad the foot is doing better!
I know I’m probably missing something obvious here, but where does one find Bob’s blog?
Jeez. Those catholic boys just never get over their nun fetish so they?
DUG,
Put a nun in one of those cute little Catholic schoolgirl uniforms and I’m in heaven.
Crap. I’m probably going to hell for this comment.
Like others have said, too bad he’s dropping the nun character idea. One of the most fascinating women I know is an ex-nun who is now studying for the priesthood.
Bob unconsciously gave you a compliment. Some of the toughest smartest women throughout history were nuns or ex-nuns.
Glad the foot is okay.
Bob doesn’t give compliments. Bob thinks compliments are strength leaving the body.
Terri, one finds Bob’s blog here.
And I am not responsible for anybody asking her son if he’s a nun. Jeez.
Cross yourself and say three hail Mary’s Bryan. And bend over. You are going to be spanked for that.
*snort*
FTR, I did not ask him if he was a nun. Jeez yourself, woman.
I said: “No one has told you lately they think you should become a nun, have they?”
He replied: “What the hell? No. Why the f*ck would anyone–” He stopped when he realized I was laughing. “Mom. You’ve been talking to those weird blog people again, haven’t you.”
Just saying. Even he knew where to assign blame for that one.
Sounds like a horror movie:
CURSE OF THE WEIRD BLOG PEOPLE.
Out of the darkness of the internet, they came to claim your soul. And bandwidth.
Hmmm. Maybe we should collaborate on a screenplay. We wouldn’t even need to do further research…
I’m glad the foot is on the mend — bet it’s much better by now.
BTW, my great-aunt is a nun; she must be pushing 90 now. Nuns have it pretty tough these days because there aren’t a lot of young women wanting to make a career of nunning. They’ve had to consolidate dioceses and stuff. Downsizing of American nun-hood.
She used to be an X-ray technician before she retired. To tell the truth, I think being a nun would be great after retirement. You have a community of women, they take care of each other and everyone still has jobs to do — taking over the switchboard or making crafts for the gift shop. No one is alone or useless. If they had nuns for secular humanists, I’d sign up for a place in an instant (but they’d have to wait until I retired (-:). On second thought, Catholics have to forgive each other; us heathens have to decide to forgive or nurse the grudge. Secular humanist nun-fights . . . scary thought.