Last week Donna Rai and I traveled to Halifax, PA (north of Harrisburg), to attend the annual Ned Smith Outdoor Art and Nature Show. I was scheduled as an event speaker and also had a booth reserved to sell my books. D-Rai and I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast far out into the countryside Friday night with good old hosts Hank and Doris Gissing and later enjoyed drinks and conversation with them and their friends at the local “hotel” they also own.
     Early Saturday morning we drove to Ned Smith Park along the banks of the broad and stately island-studded Susquehanna River and set up our table and canopy under the tall white pines and red oak trees. The event was well-attended for a recession year, and we talked to a lot of people but mysteriously failed to sell a single copy of “The F-Troop Camp Chronicles” or “Trucks Are Better Than Women” all morning. At noon I gave my talk on “Women in the Outdoors” with major help from D-Rai before and during the speech, and then we returned to the book booth for the afternoon.
     D-Rai then tried a new strategy. She sent me off on errands while she used her charm and personality to sell books alone. It worked! She sold several copies of both books, and when I returned from my errands, even I started selling successfully. We finished the day with a good number of book sales and good lively memories of a mid-state adventure in Pennsylvania.
     Good luck out there. And have a great week outdoors.    

~ Don Feigert, 7-28-09