It's been three weeks since I left my oldest son in Tampa for his freshman year in college; bought a house; and moved across town. Since then, we have continually unpacked boxes ... and I found three Erma Bombeck paperbacks which I purchased from a yard sale.
From her bio on Amazon,
Beloved for her wry yet warm look at family life, Erma Bombeck was America's favorite humorist at the time of her death in 1996. Ten of her 13 books, including Forever, Erma, appeared on the New York Times best-seller list. She claimed her first fiction writing was the weather forecast in the Dayton Herald. Her favorite food was pasta, and her hobby was dust.
Given my love of travel, I jumped right into WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR PASSPORT PHOTO, IT'S TIME TO GO HOME:
The popular humorist offers tips and truisms on travel, discussing oddly named food, Asian bus drivers in Germany, plumbing around the world, and more.
Published in 1991, the book opened with Erma and her husband trapped in their hotel room during a riot outside in Papua New Guinea. This harrowing scenario gave Erma the opportunity to flashback to family vacations before her publishing success funded international travel. She shared "I Love Lucy" moments which justify the axiom one needs a vacation after the vacation. Although the technology may be dated, the teenagers are exactly the same from 1991 to the present.
Erma also wrote about her trip to Russia as part of a "women to women" symposium during Glasnost. As a humorist, she opened her speech with a joke about putting two socks into the washer and only one coming out. Erma admitted the joke bombed, presumably because Russian women don't have washing machines. She then joked about being a sports widow, to which the Russian women laughed. Erma found common ground with women who were deemed the enemy following WWII. She interjected poignant moments into her trademark humor to deliver an entertaining read.
Erma ended the book by returning to the volatile night in Papua New Guinea and their departure the following morning. Once she landed in New York, the passport officer commented, "Nice likeness."
Erma delivered exactly what I needed to survive the events of the past month.
Erma delivered exactly what I needed to survive the events of the past month.
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| Erma referenced Kauai ... above is the Sprouting Horn Blowhole on Kauai's South Shore |
I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Do you have a favorite humorist and/or comedian? I enjoy the old school physical comedy of Lucille Ball in I LOVE LUCY.
2. Comments are open through Saturday, September 26, 10 pm in Baltimore.
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 27.
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
