Corpus Christi Chronicle #3

riving into Corpus Christi on May 1st I put the fate of Hooey in the hands of a friend of a friend from college. Driving out of Corpus on May 14th, the friend of a friend and his wife had become my friends and the fate of Hooey looked sound.

I left Corpus Christi yesterday morning and while it's good to be back in familiar environs and not grabbing lunch from a hotel vending machine any more, I have to admit I already miss Corpus. I had just started to make friends, to make in-roads in the elementary school community and a couple restaurants already knew me by name.

A couple nights before leaving, a pair of cards from Houston living in Corpus asked me what it was like coming from NYC to Corpus and how I'd been received. It took twelve days for someone to ask me that. While it did surprise people that someone would come from NYC to Corpus intentionally, I was always treated well. I attribute that to the project.

I spent little time talking about myself and a vast majority of the time talking about Hooey. Time and again I got positive feedback and constructive criticism from locals. What I did not leave Corpus with is a green light to bring Hooey to a Corpus elementary school classroom in the fall. That being said, I'm merely sitting at the intersection waiting for the lights to change, not pulled over, four way flashers on, a dated road map sprawled out over the driver's wheel.

As always, there's more work to do, but the way forward is clear.

Project Update: First and foremost, big thanks to Bro Krift, Elaine Marsilio Krift and Nancy Vera in Corpus for their hospitality, their local expertise and their pick-up-the-phone-and-get-'er-done ways. Thanks also to Michael Kruse for putting me in touch with Bro. Unfortunately, the search for an illustrator continues. This remains the biggest roadblock to advancing the project to its next big stage: Kickstarter. With renewed focus, I'm talking to a handful of illustrators, but if they're to have Hooey ready by the fall school year, shit's gotta start very soon. If I have to start drawing stick figures I'll do it.

That Yankee Bastard

nce upon a time I played in a fantasy baseball league with a bunch of dudes from Georgia. My team name? That Yankee Bastard. TYB (or, in the rare week I had the upper hand, That Bastard) had its moments (Thank you, Justin Verlander, for that 86 point no-no in '07!). But having gone to school in the South, I have a good feeling for what flies and what hits the fan.

That being said, from what I've been told, Texas is not the South. I know Texans, I went to school with Texans, I like Texans. Believe it or not, I've found an odd kinship between New Yorkers and Texans. Both groups have a certain, "This is how we do things" mentality. (More explicitly, in NYC it's, "This is how we do things. Don't like it? Go fuck yourself." In Texas, I take the follow-up sentences to be implied.) Texas females are one of the few groups of newbies to NYC that I don't worry about.

But this time, I'll be on Texas turf.

Looking ahead, I've drafted a sketch of what I'd like to accomplish on this first trip:

1) It's important that I get a good feel for what financial education is being currently offered and how Hooey can complement that.

2) It's equally important to listen to folks in the community to make sure Hooey addresses the financial problems or gaps in learning that they say currently exist.

3) As a you-don't-even-have-to-open-your-mouth-'cause-we-already-know Yankee, I need to propose a simple, straight-forward, easily executable plan that will not get rejected out of hand. That plan, at this time, is to provide every public school third grader and every local public library in the chosen community with a free copy of Hooey Savvy's Cookie-Wise Pablo (in English or in Mexican-Spanish). I won't ask for it to become part of the curriculum and I won't ask for librarians to read it. I'd just like it to be available at home or in the local library.

4) I need to shake a lot of hands and arrange a lot of face time. I could easily email all the folks that I've built a database around, but they can just as easily drag and drop my ass into their trash cans. By making the trip I show I am interested in their community and that my ass, for as scrawny as it is, does not belong in the trash.

5) Thanks to the standards set by "No Child Left Behind" and the Texas Department of Education's buying power, it would behoove me to bring Hooey in line with these standards as best as possible.

Those are the broad strokes. Jamie Oliver didn't just show up in West Virginia and commandeer an elementary school kitchen. It takes time and trust. If I can put in the time and build the trust, hopefully I can accomplish a fraction of what he has.

Project Updates: The L.A. illustrator has looked at the text of Hooey, likes it and is putting together a budget proposal. To fill in other gaps in the budget, I've also reached out to a local video production guy about a short Kickstarter presentation, have put together a preliminary list of Kickstarter rewards to offer and have some musicians potentially interested in recording some of the songs from Hooey. The Boston Squeeze continues apace. Have finally found a format that will carry the story and, thanks to Mr. Patrick Jordan, I've staked out some possible locations for the Squeeze's fictional Boston-area stadium. It's not a Pettitte curve yet, but it sure ain't a hanging curve.

Next Steps? So Danco Samba

While I would like to just jump into fresh edits of ACYW, I need to learn more about Brazil, its culture, its people and its language first. I have a slew of books, CDs (Gilberto, Jobim et al) and DVDs (the World Cup's greatest moments) waiting for pickup at the NYPL this Saturday. On recommendation from a friend, I have also joined a local Meetup group for Brazilians (or those interested in Brazil, its culture and language) in NYC. They watch movies (Orfeu on 8/31), they give rudimentary Portuguese classes and set up dance classes. All sound good to me! Needless to say, it may be a month before I put pen to paper on this project.

That being said, I'm going to start Family in the meantime. Not writing is making me cranky, even with the Yankees playing beautiful baseball.

33 to go and blessing SUVs

Despite distractions (Davidson beating NC State & West Virginia at MSG; the Yanks signing CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett; sugar, booze, birthdays and the beautiful women of NYC), I have only 33 pages of editing to go. 156 of 189 done.

The following appeared in this week's Economist:

'INVEST IN AMERICA', screamed the front page of the Detroit Free Press on December 4th. Copies of the newspaper were sent to Congress, begging for a bailout for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. 'You can help them,' the paper urged, warning: 'And if you don't, make no mistake: there will be bleeding throughout the land.' The prospect of a collapsed car industry was so terrifying that a church in Detroit placed three hybrid SUVs on its altar and prayed for divine intervention."

Ironically, a character in ACYW is a staunchly pro-American reporter for the...Detroit Free Press. So, thank you, DFP, to playing up to my stereotype.

At the same time, I question the "bleeding throughout the land" bit. As I noted before, there have been more casualties from Black Friday (1) this year than from all the financial carnage of September and October's financial meltdown (0). Maybe this fall was too early for people to really comprehend the damage done and the need to revolt or at least protest. Maybe it'll come a little further down the road if things become more dire. I hope not, but right now it's Violent Consumers 1 Public Outrage 0.