In a continuation of Relationship Sweeps Week and in my best efforts to impress the big wigs at corporate, I do believe I have blown all other relationships out of the water once again. Last night, I took Daniel to see Pittsburgh’s own Michael Chabon at Joseph Beth Booksellers in the South Side where he read excerpts from his new book of essays, Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son. Chabon is a favorite of both Dan and I, we both particularly liked Kavalier and Clay, so it’s no surprise that this little adventure earned me high marks.
Michael Chabon is everything you would want your favorite writer to be – friendly, witty, smart, approachable, and not at all pretentious. Dan and I were both hoping that he would comment on how cute we are as a couple, but alas, he did not. I could tell he was thinking it, though. I don’t thing I’m urging anyone to go out and buy Manhood for Amateurs (if he would have said we were cute, I would buy you all a copy), especially if you fell in love with Chabon solely for his outstanding fiction and amazing characters, but it was worth listening to him read these personal stories to us. They were funny, relate-able, and did not try to be profound, as many personal essays do.
Dan didn’t ask any questions during the Q&A, which made me mad because I think Dan asks really good questions for the most part, unless he’s asking me if I think Taffy is President. But I particularly wish Dan had asked a question during this Q&A because people tend to ask the dumbest questions at these things. There’s always some kid enrolled in Creative Writing or The 20th Century Novel who asks a really inane question and who most likely doesn’t even know what “inane” means. And then there are the over-zealous fans who keep inviting Michael Chabon to a Pittsburgh Pirates game with them, and Michael keeps dodging the question and politely skirting around it, but at some point, when the fan persists, it gets obvious to everyone that Michael is saying “no” and that the situation is getting awkward and uncomfortable. There are also people in the world/Pittsburgh who think everything is relevant to the recent G-20 and that it is a good idea to ask Michael Chabon, who happens to write about Pittsburgh for completely unpolitical reasons, what he thinks about our city being invaded by fascists.
Fortunately for my sweeps week ratings, Michael Chabon was gracious and answered all of the crazies’ questions without letting on that they were crazy in the first place.
