I want to open this Memorial Day Weekend update by sharing a moving story with you. On Wednesday, I landed in DCA on a flight from Louisville. When I stepped off the plane, the sound of a trumpet playing GOD BLESS AMERICA filled the air. A few gates away, a large crowd had gathered, everyone applauding and cheering wildly. That gate was festooned with red, white and blue balloons. I had over an hour until my connection, so I wandered over to see what they were celebrating. As it turned out, a flight of WW II veterans had just landed, and the airport had announced that anyone who had time between flights go to this gate to greet them. The vets had come for a special event at the WW II Veteran's Monument in DC. I joined the crowd greeting the veterans, most of whom came off the plane in wheelchairs, and most of those wheelchairs were pushed by their sons, men around my own age. Marines stood by too, helping out. Standing in that crowd, hearing the patriotic songs, seeing these men--now so infirmed, yet grinning--overwhelmed me. I wasn't the only traveler standing there crying.

That flight I had to make in an hour canceled. And that day turned into travel hell, one of those days that can make a person want to just stay home. But as each little thing happened, delaying me more and more, instead of the frustration that can accompany such days, the warmth of that earlier experience stayed with me. Was I happy to get home eight hours later than scheduled? Heck, no! But magic was work that day, and I took it along with me.

Despite my travel delays, it was another wonderful week on the road with THE RED THREAD. I've already documented here the terrific events in Denver, Lexington and Louisville. They were followed by a a lovely evening at the Redwood Library in Newport, organized by the fabulous Doug Riggs who is the Book Editor at The Providence Journal.

The next day brought me back to the Cape and an afternoon talk at the Dennis Library. 72 warm and engaged people attended. I had had an emotional experience earlier that day, trying to deal with an impossible person, one of those people who makes an opinion based on nothing and refuses to listen to anything that doesn't support that. So this wonderful group not only lifted my spirits, but they also embraced me in the possible way. What an incredible afternoon!

Today, I am doing a reading at the Middletown Library in Middletown, RI (details on my website, EVENTS).

Then a few days off for some much needed R and R before another week of terrific events in Portland, Maine; East Greenwich, RI; the We Can event with Wally Lamb back on Cape Cod; Boston, MA...and more!