We had a wonderful time in Worcester Thursday. For a change, the students were familiar with my work and publicity had gone out into the community as well as on campus. We had a standing room only crowd. Karen Sharpe, a fine poet who was in last year’s juried intensive poetry workshop here, arranged everything. Then she took us all[including another very fine poet Anastasia Vassos who was also in the workshop] out to dinner at an excellent seafood restaurant. Plus I was paid, which is also a big improvement. The only problem was getting home. The rainstorm was blinding. We could not ten feet in front of the car and the wind was fierce and battering. Sometimes on the intgerstae the traffic went 30 miles an hour. It took forever to get home. Fortunately Dale and Stephen had shut the greenhouse, turned on the heat and fed the cats for us. Saturday was Woody’s birthday. We had a wonderful day. In the afternoon I gave him his presents and we had a sumptuous supper. We have an enormous amount to do before leaving very early Tuesday for Wooster. I know this trip is going to be very hard – six gigs in 8 days the traveling by car over 2400 miles. But all the gigs I have done so far this year and will do in the couple of months ahead will pay for the new car we bought, the twilight blue Suburo Outback that makes traveling far more comfortable and is far easier to drive than the truck has been. It’s a good truck but hard to maneuver in cities and tight places. The Suburu had much more room for the stuff we have to haul along on the trip that is going to take us from winter temperatures through spring temperatures to summer temperatures. We don’t know if the broccoli and the red cabbage we planted as seedlings from the greenhouse survived the unseasonable and extreme cold we endured for a couple of days. the lettuce seems okay and garlic is fine. today the spinach came up. the bok choi can endure almost anything nature can throw at it. Sunday I’d really like to plant the Brussels sprouts, curly parsley and calendula from the greenhouse as they are rather large to stay in their six-packs. We’ll have to see if the weather and time constraints permit us to plant. Monday Dale has to help me put together the itineraries and information for four of the gigs. We did two last Monday. I have all the readings put together, all five of them. I know what we’re doing for the workshop but still need to do some Xeroxing. I have to get the maps together, figure out what to take. Probably I’ll pack my briefcase at least as far as I can go tomorrow and then finish it up on Monday when it’s time to pack. I am very worried about the cats while we’re gone but we’ve arranged for them to be fed at least. Dale will take care of the greenhouse stuffed full of seedlings, most all tender now. It’s just as important they not dry out.