The Book Tour Continues

Starting the next phase of my book tour tomorrow but I wanted to reflect upon for a moment, upon the old friends and new friends that I've met along the way, who make this journey really extraordinary. There are people who I have mentioned in the book that become three dimensional, and appear at the book signings, and it's so exciting to have them there when I tell their stories, knowing that they will be inspiring. And then there are the new people who I meet along the way who share the same passion. They are people who are dreaming of doing great things with their lives and they are doing them! The energy level and excitement at these book signings is so high. And it is really fun when someone hands me a book to sign and tells me what he or she is doing and why they can't wait to read the book, or how they have already read it and connected with it. This is really a highlight of the book, getting to see how people absorb the information and how they apply it in their own lives with their own goals. It is really exciting!

1. John York one of our greatest channel swimmers who has mentored and coached so many swimmers and water polo players, and started the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation at Pages Bookstore with Lynne. / 2. Niece, Lynne, John and Beth inside ice cream shop Manhattan Beach / 3. Lynne Cox, Thomas Johnson, triathlete, Barbara Held great channel swimmer and mentor and Kendra Kaufman swimmer and naval aviator meeting at La Jolla Cove discussing swims and listening to great stories from Kendra about flying for the US Navy and the parallels between flight and swimming. / 4. Kathy Kent and Karhleen Fessenden workout pals at booksigning. Kathy is a professional photographer and high school photo teacher who edited photos for the book. And Kathleen was one friend who listened to ideas for writing the South With the Sun for the past seven years. She purchased the book for her daughters to inspire them with their sports: track, soccer, and lacrosse. / 5. Kevin Anderson, Lynne Cox, Dan Simonelli, and Barbara Held above the beautiful waters of La Cove. / 6. The Simonelli family with Lynne at Warwicks bookstore in La Jolla, California a family of swimmers and runners!

You're seeing Howard mastering the dog paddle as Betty his coach watches and jumps into the water to show Howard how to retrieve two tennis balls and hold them in her mouth. Howard has just mastered one tennis ball and is working on two. They are big tennis fans. With out tennis players there wouldn't be any great tennis balls to retrieve! Tokie their human is proud of Howard getting over his fear of the water. He is s great swimmer now!

Had the chance to meet with Tokie Shynk, my friend who is a triathlete and we watched Howard, her yellow lab, who is more white than yellow, swim across the back yard pool. We analyzed his dog paddle as Betty, his adopted yellow lab mother, watched him swim. She taught Howard how to swim and how to capture tennis balls. She jumps into the water and carries two.

Also had the chance to see UCSB Alumni Swim Meet this weekend and talk with Coach Greg Wilson, who I assistant coached for years ago, and meet Assistant Coach Tim Siciliano.  It was so much fun to watch UCSB men and women swimmers race across the pool as if they were propelled by jets while their parents and friends and Nick the yellow cheered them on!  It was wonderful to see Gaucho great swimmers that I remember from my time at UCSB. They were still swimming and looked very strong.

Head to Capitola tomorrow (Wednesday) to begin the next phase of the book tour and Thursday San Francisco for the South Rowing Club and Dolphin Club Booksigning:
Wednesday, Oct 5 
CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA
7:30 pm -- Capitola Book Café, 1475 41st Avenue, Capitola, CA 95010

Thurs, Oct 6 
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
6pm-8pm -- South End Rowing Club and Dolphin Club will co-sponsor the event 500 Jefferson St, SF Ca 94109

Sunday, October 9 
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
4 pm -- Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

Monday, October 10 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
7 pm -- Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155. 

WOW!!! Bob Dylan likes SOUTH WITH THE SUN

A few weeks ago when Bob Dylan sent a Face Book Message and said that he was a fan, and that he "liked" my book. I clicked on his name on Face Book and make sure it was really the Bob Dylan. When I arrived in Portland for the book tour, and met with Mary and Greta, when we were standing under K.A.'s Antarctic painting, Mary asked me if I was excited about the book tour, and I said yes! I had the chance to see old friends and new, and hear what they thought about the book, and how it connected with them, and I got surprised. I mentioned how Bob Dylan had sent me a message, and wondered if he had grown up on stories of Amundsen, and Nansen, and of the great polar explorers and if they had inspired him, and helped him create and compose his own course through music and life. I couldn't help but see the strong parallels between him and the polar explorers from the past and in the present. 


Bob Dylan explored folk, blues, gospel, Irish, English, rock, and other forms of music, and discovered new ways singing his song. and conveying his poetry. He overcame the inertia of established thought, he had the fortitude and resiliency to over come the critics and create and sing what he believed.


There was a song that I was trying to remember and I couldn't so I described it to Mary and Geta. "It's a song about changes, it's not "Blowing in the Wind" it's not "Like a Rolling Stone." There are a couple phrases in the song that kept playing in my head. There's one that you can sink or you can swim, and there's another with a biblical reference: the last will be first. He was talking about social change. I just can't remember the name of  it. But I can't forget Dylan. I studied him in college. He was the subject of a history thesis that I wrote at UCSB. I studied him and the impact he and Simon and Garfunkel had on the counter culture of the '60's. But his impact like those of the polar explorers will span the ages. Do you know what that song is?" I asked Mary and Greta? They were remembering his music. The phrases and commenting on his music and impact, and how Dylan is still sharing his work. We just couldn't remember that song.

Mary drove me to Salty's Seafood Grills very near Portland International Airport. We sat outside on the patio over looking the deep blue Columbia River, and watched a tug push a cargo ship up the river, and saw two F-16's fly over head, and heard the thunder of their engines, and marveled at their flight, and just after we were handed menus someone inside the restaurant turned on the music. Dylan's voice came on,

and he sang the song! "The times they are a changing." We smiled and listened to his poetry,

Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' - youtube.com

and after talk about how artists, athletes, scientist, explorers and so many other people who succeed draw from same source of inspiration, and share the same methods to achieving what they want to do in life. We talked about our poet friend Ronnie Smith and how he has published his first e book wonderful e book of Antarctic poetry, www.ronniejsmith.com and K.A. Colorado's paintings. www.kacoloradofineart.com

Mary and I watched the river flow, felt the heat of the autumn sun, and the cool breeze off the Columbia. We ate some delicious blackened salmon that must have come from the Columbia River. It tasted more like it had swum from a sweet river than like from the sea. We shared a creamy halibut pesto, ate tang key lime pie, and we talked about how inter connected everything is, and how life is full of wonderful surprises and awe inspiring discoveries.

LAST NIGHT POWELL'S BOOKSIGNING/TONIGHT PAGES

Yesterday was an extraordinary day in Portland, Oregon. At the booksigning at Powell's book store, an three story building of new and used books, I did a book signing. In the audience were an amazing array of friends, swimmers, triathletes, young and older people, and people who are into exploration. Bob Needham was there. He just swam the Catalina Channel the night before last in 13 hours to raise money and awareness to prevent suicides. Jodi and Marci climbed out to the water to say hi. Rosemary Lombard was there too. She is an expert on Pancake Tortorises and has studied them for 30 years. Most endurance athletes appreciate the slow steady endurance of the great tortorise. Met a woman whose aunt, Mrs. Liam was a Lutheran nurse in Teller, Alaska. She was there to he the Inuit people. And she was there at the time Amundsen and his crew became the firs to fly over the North Pole and land thehis Norge airship in Teller Alaske. Mrs. Liam cut strips of the interior fabric and of the exterior fabric of the Norge and sent to her family. The woman at the book signing handed me the piece of the airship and her aunt's letter of that date and the description of this small piece of exploration. It was amazing to this was part of the fabric of airship that enabled explores to fly over the North Pole, and part of the fabric of history. Would like to write but have to drive up to Pages Book Store in Manhattan, Beach, CA in just a few minutes to meet other friends and talk about South With the Sun. Hope to see you there and if you are too far away,  look forward to telling you about tonight's discoveries! :)! Appreciate all your interest :)! Lynne

Lynne arrives in Portland.

K.A. Colorado Iceberg Paintings 
Art Exhibition at Portland International Airport
Just arrived in Portland, Oregon and saw my good friend K.A. Colorado's paintings art exhibition at Portland International Airport. I was met here by K.A. Colorado's wife Mary R. Tahan, and the director of the Portland Airport Arts & Entertainment Program, Greta Blalock, both of whom greeted me at the gate and took me to see this great art installation by my good friend K.A. You can see his art pictured here -- it's magnificent in its wonderful colors and environmental theme, and huge in its scope -- with me (in the middle) standing with Mary and Greta. You can also hear K.A.'s audio description by calling 503-415-6897. What a great way to kick off my book tour!

K.A. Colorado is a great friend whose art work is on exhibition at the Portland International Airport. It was so fantastic to fly into Portland airport and see his work! K.A. Colorado is an environmental artist whose work depicts the Polar regions, icebergs, and ice cores, as well as the phenomenon of deep cold and climate change. In June of this year, he completed  this series of iceberg-and-climate paintings for exhibition at the Portland International Airport.  If you want to take a look at his amazing work, the exhibition is installed in the main front entrance of the ticketing lobby. It is magnificent. It conveys a significant message of climate change and vanishing icebergs. 

While working on the paintings at his studio in Troutdale, Oregon in March, the earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan, and at that time K.A. decided to dedicate his paintings to the victims of the tsunami.  If you visit the exhibition, you can hear his dedication at the airport in a special artist's audio description Subsequently NASA  released its report in August regarding the Antarctic Ice Shelf breaking off and creating icebergs as a direct result of the waves emanating from the tsunami in Japan.   

-- Lynne

http://www.portofportland.com/NewsRelease.aspx?newsContent=A_2011711161543RAPDXArtNR39.ascx&topic=Aviation%20News%20Release

Book tour

It is so exciting to start packing my bags for the book tour, and to hear from friends who are planning to be there. Yesterday I had a great surprise. Garrison Keillor, the author/storyteller/radio personality, who has a great radio program, prairiehome.publicradio.org sent me a message on Face Book! He said that he "liked" South With the Sun!  For years, I've listened to him tell wonderful mythical stories about people who live around Lake Wobegon, tales of Vikings, ice mermaids, and ice fishermen, and in his stories he illuminates the great polar explorers Amundsen and Nansen. It is wonderful to share the same heroes, and draw from the same source of inspiration. I wonder what it would be like to swim across Lake Wobegon or go ice fishing with Garrison Keillor?

BOOK TOUR September and October 2011 launch of book "South With the Sun."

BOOK SIGNINGS 

Locations and dates will be updated regularly.

Wednesday, Sept 21 

PORTLAND, OREGON

7:30 pm -- Powell’s Books, downtown location, 1005 W. Burnside, Portland, Oregon. 

Thursday, September 22 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

7:00 pm -- Pages Bookstore, 904 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. 

Tuesday, September 27 

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

7:30 pm -- Warwick’s, 7812 Girard, La Jolla, CA 92037. 

Wednesday, Oct 5 

CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA

7:30 pm -- Capitola Book Café, 1475 41st Avenue, Capitola, CA 95010

Thurs, Oct 6 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Evening -- South End Rowing Club and Dolphin Club will co-sponsor the event

Place and time To Be announced

Sunday, October 9 

BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

4 pm -- Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

Monday, October 10 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

7 pm -- Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155. 

Saturday, October 22 

NEW YORK, NY

2:30 pm -- New York Public Library, 

Mid-Manhattan branch, 

455 Fifth Avenue at 40th. 

Thursday, October 27 

ST. PAUL. MINNESOTA

7:00 pm --  Left Bank Books, Downtown store location, 321 N. 10^th Street, St. Louis, MO 63101.  

Thursday, October 27 

ST. PAUL. MINNESOTA

7:30 pm -- Common Good Books, 165 Western Avenue North, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102. 

Friday, October 28 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

6:30 pm -- Book Stall at Chestnut Court, 811 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL 60093. 

GRAYSON back at Laguna Beach

Lorraine Passero, author, and friend of Lynnes', pictured with Jon Seeman, her husband the artist, and Grayson

I teach language arts to sixth graders in Laguna Beach, California. Lynne Cox’s book Grayson was recommended to me as a good read aloud book for my students. Living in a beach community with a view of the ocean from our classroom window, I thought this book about an underwater encounter with a lost baby whale would grab their attention. It really did. Her writing submerges the reader (or listener) into another world. Only a talented author like Lynne could write an entire book about a three-hour incident during a morning swim workout. She vividly crafts her descriptions of the ocean and sea creatures enabling us to feel like we were with her on a mission to unite Grayson the whale with his mother. The students were held in suspense to find out what would happen next. 

After we finished reading the book, the students chose culminating projects from a variety of activities. They came up with some amazing ideas such as making models of underwater scenes, drawing life-sized illustrations of Grayson, and presenting digitized reports about whales.  The students and I then wrote letters to Lynne about our favorite parts of the book and asked questions about her experience.  You can imagine the students’ excitement when they each received a response from the author. 

Lynne and I struck up an email friendship and eventually met for lunch in Laguna Beach. As we sat down, I was so elated and nervous to meet the famous author that I accidently spilled a glass of water on her shirt.  In her quick-witted manner she replied, “ That’s ok. I know how to swim!”  We then drove to Heisler Park. My husband Jon Seeman, an artist, was recently commissioned by the city to create a sixteen-foot metal sculpture of a breeching whale. He aptly named it Grayson in honor of Lynne Cox and the baby whale she saved one morning while swimming at the beach. Lynne couldn’t contain herself from posing with Grayson the whale!

Lynne with Grayson