Erin's Journals

The publicity machine is a funny thing and sometimes – if you’re lucky – it churns at a fast and furious pace and sweeps you into all kinds of wonderful directions, as I’ve found over the past few days.
 
Take this past week. On Friday, as Rob and I were making our way back home to North Saanich near Victoria, our friend Nancy wrote and said, “OMG, just opened our newspaper and there you are!” It was an article that local writer Nick Murray penned after interviewing me last week. It’s a lovely piece and, really, except for a few small errors (Olivia Newton-John wrote a piece on the cover but not the foreword; that was from the amazing Jann Arden), it was pretty much accurate.
 
It was certainly kind and, most importantly of all, it’s the first article that’s been written since the book’s release three months ago that is meant to be read by my neighbours here on the Saanich Peninsula. (Turns out it’s in a few sister publications as well.) The paper is free for pickup at stands near our local mailboxes; who knows who will be seeing me and going, “Her? I saw her at our meeting last week. Huh – who knew?”
 
I don’t expect it’ll change my life, but hopefully a few local organizations might get in touch to ask me to participate in upcoming events. So far, I’ve signed up for but one writers’ gathering in October. Maybe one book does not a writer make – especially here where there are so very many. It was so nice of the author to include where my book is available locally. Here’s the link to that article (our story is on page 3) and thank you to Nick Murray for taking the time to call and talk to me. 
 
And just yesterday, I heard from the organizer of next Thursday’s event in Thornton (at Tangle Creek Golf Course) to raise money for Matthews House Hospice that there was an article on Simcoe.com (the link is here). We were pleased to see a photo of me with our great friend Allan Bell, who’s largely responsible for bringing me to Ontario to help out Markham Stouffville Hospital.
 
The picture surprised us a little, though, given that my interviewer at the event will be Kevin Frankish, formerly of Breakfast Television. At last check there are about 25 tickets left and I look forward to chatting with Kevin. Hope you can make one of the events next week. Details are in the What’s Up section of this website.
 
Why am I telling you all of this? Oh, heck, I don’t know. I’m reluctant in so many ways; it seems immodest, to say the least. Believe me, I’m standing on the sidelines asking whose life this is, anyway? Those instances above, combined with a phone interview with a Barrie radio station last Friday and World Christian Broadcasting the day before, plus yesterday’s AMAWaterways webinar for the cruise Mike Cooper and I are going to be hosting in October 2020, all struck me as just a tsunami of busyness these days.
 
I guess it just shows that while you expect your reWirement to be one thing, it can often take a turn – or six – and become something else entirely. I never, ever would have expected to have a reason to put on makeup or worry about Spanx again (and, oh yes, I’m worrying about Spanx), but here we are, about to embark on another trip, new adventures and lots more reasons to get out of bed and ask “what wonderful thing is going to happen today?”
 
Like maybe a Raptors’ win over the Golden State Warriors? Here’s hoping!
 
Let’s wrap up this week here tomorrow with the BEST news of all: happy FAMILY NEWS! I think you’ll be tickled…pink. Definitely pink. Talk to you then.
 

Welcome to Wednesday! It’s a busy one here as we get set for a webinar this afternoon (recorded for those who can’t join us, plus there’s another planned for an evening in June) from AMA Waterways about the October 2020 Rhine Cruise with a Canadian Twist. We’re taking over an entire riverboat, Mike Cooper and I and all of our fantastic guests, and can’t wait to learn more about it – as will you today – and our trip from Switzerland to The Netherlands during Canadian Thanksgiving 2020. 
 
If you’re interested, you need to register first, and you can do that here.
 
A lot has been made over the past week of a doctored, truly “fake news” video of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In it, this brilliant and powerful woman is being made to look like a stumbling drunk, a direct hit back at her for suggesting that Donald Trump’s family perhaps stage an intervention at this point in his mental decline. (Need proof? He offered a cheery “Happy Memorial Day!” to his hosts in…wait for it…Japan. Clearly Dec. 7, 1941 was not an infamous day in his mind.)
 
At any rate, I had been holding onto a scary, brilliant video put together by the Oscar-winning film maker Jordan Peele that points out, through his incredible mimicry and talent, the dangers in believing everything (and sometimes anything) you see on the internet in 2019. I urge you to share this with any friends/family who may have passed along or (worse yet) believed the Pelosi video that Trump himself gleefully retweeted.
 
You KNOW his “base” bought it hook, line and sinker because Dear Leader, the guy who made the “fake news” cry famous, RT’d it. But this piece from Peele should be a wake-up call to everyone with the capacity for rational thought. (It features Barack Obama saying things…but I’m not going to spoil it for you. It’s brilliant. Caution: some of the language is a little ‘blue.’) Just click on the screenshot below.
 

 
“Love many, trust few and always paddle your own canoe,” my grandmother would say. Although, these days, she might be more tempted to say, “Love many, trust none and no one is trying to take your gun.” (Gram was born in North Dakota, so the gun rhyme actually works.)
 
Watch the video, share today’s journal please and always ALWAYS ask questions. There’s so much misinformation out there, and with elections always just around the corner, we as Canadians need to be on the alert as well. 
 
Back with you here tomorrow. And that you can believe.
 

Just a quick note on a webinar happening tomorrow at 2 pm EDT to discuss the October 2020 AMA Waterways riverboat cruise that Mike Cooper and I are hosting – taking over the ENTIRE BOAT with just our group! If you’ve never taken part in a webinar, not to worry, it’s just my second. You need to pre-register, so just click here, and please join us tomorrow at 2 pm EDT. If you can’t, we’ll make it available for you at another time, plus there’s an evening webinar planned for June.
 
Meantime, today’s journal was inspired by what I experienced on our most recent trip, combined with the fact that Rob and I took off on a 30 km bike ride yesterday. BIG fun.
 
It happens repeatedly every year in almost every city where cyclists and motorists share the road: a driver finds the perfect parking spot; a taxi cab passenger reaches her destination. Then, unthinking, the person in the car opens the door into the bike lane (or even just into the street) and strikes a cyclist. It’s called dooring and it’s a daily – and often deadly – occurrence, especially if the person struck is sent out into traffic, often to be hit by a passing vehicle.
 
As a casual bike rider, I think about this all the time and give parked cars a careful, wide berth. I keep in mind that people are pre-occupied most of the time and so they don’t always (or sometimes ever) remember to check over their shoulder to see if there’s someone heading their way. That’s why the idea of what’s called the Dutch Reach – aka Far Reach, Far Hand Reach, Right Hand Reach, Reach Across and Safety Exit – is so brilliant.
 
As we saw on our recent trip to Amsterdam, they take cycling very seriously. (And with humour: a longstanding joke is asking Germans when they’re going to give back the bicycles they stole from Amsterdammers back in WWII.) But as one of our tour guides reminded us during our visit earlier this spring, if you hit a cyclist, you are in very big trouble. That may be why the Dutch Reach has become de rigueur there since it began in the 1970s under a campaign named to “stop the child killing.” The Dutch Reach is so normal that there isn’t even a name for it in Holland or The Netherlands.
 
How does it work? You park your car. Instead of using your left hand to open the driver’s side door, you reach across with your right hand. That way, you are forced to twist your body and it reminds you to look over that left shoulder to make sure the way is clear to open said door. (Obviously, the opposite works on the passenger side.)
 

 
It’s a simple way to reduce the risk of the biggest cause of car-to-cyclist crashes: dooring. As someone who rides, I’m always aware; as a passenger and occasional backseat driver, I’m also an active proponent of using this method, although I don’t do it 100% of the time – yet. They say that doing things for thirty days makes a habit of it. And here’s a handy tip: tie a ribbon to your car door (inside) so when you see it, you’re reminded not to try to step out until you and your passengers have checked to make sure the coast is clear.
 
This article from the New York Times has more tips, including those for cyclists, which include using running lights all day. I don’t have one, as I don’t ride at dusk, in the dark or in inclement weather, but it makes sense from a safety point of view. Just yesterday we noticed several riders with running lights, which was good in the many shady spots we rode through. Take a quick look at the article and maybe you’ll start using – and teaching your children to use – the Dutch Reach. You never know how many lives you could save.
 
Who’s in? 
 

Well, how nice it is to see you back here again! I’ve so been missing writing lo, these past two weeks, but my mind and my editor/IT guy/husband needed a break. A rest and recharge. (Except for the massive excitement of Saturday night’s Raptors’ win! Now…we await Thursday….)
 
With just one week until I’m in the GTA again full-speed-ahead for book events, there are a couple of BIG announcements!
 
Just last Friday (which also happened to be his birthday) my dear friend and partner Mike Cooper agreed to jump in and host an event next Tuesday (a week tomorrow) at the Flato Markham Theatre. You’ll find details on tickets here – it’s the 2 pm version of Reclaiming Joy (with me); the 7 pm show will feature CTV’s Beverly Thomson as host and interviewer. The 2 pm show was added rather last minute and Bev had to work during the day on CTV, so Mike said, “Sure, I’ll be there!”
 
It should be an amazing, funny and touching conversation. There are still some seats from the 10th row back, and down the sides for the afternoon, so get them today if you can and we’ll see you at 2 pm next Tuesday with Mike Cooper, or at 7 pm with the wonderful Beverly Thomson!
 
As if that’s not enough, we’ve gotten confirmation that after the success of this spring’s Amsterdam/Belgium trip, we WILL be taking over an entire Ama Waterways riverboat in October 2020 during Canadian Thanksgiving. It meanders from Switzerland to the Netherlands and Mike and I (your hosts along with New Wave Travel again) will be taking part in a webinar this Wednesday at 2 pm EDT if you want to join or just listen in! I’ll fill you in on the details tomorrow or Wednesday but it’s going to be epic.
 
Now…where was I?
 

 
It was refreshing to take the time to do a little reading: I felt as if I’d spent a few solid days with a good friend, but it was someone whom I have yet to meet. (I’m guessing now that I am out of the interviewing business, it’s not likely to happen, but I can’t give up a glimmer of hope.) And this woman knows hope: it’s former US First Lady Michelle Obama.
 
Rob and I were given her #1 bestselling autobiography Becoming by his sister Susan last Christmas, but I needed to have a clear head – and slate – in order to make time to immerse myself in Michelle’s story. Early on in the book, I read of her friend Suzanne’s death at 26 (cancer) and how it sparked in then-Michelle Robinson an awareness of the importance of stopping the climb and seeking joy once in a while.
 
This particular entry in the book resonated very clearly with me as I reflected upon Suzanne’s seeming attack on life: long before she got her deadly cancer diagnosis, she was intent on observing and pursuing a different set of priorities from her laser-focused Princeton University roomie, Michelle. It seemed to me an echo of what Rob and I have believed about our own daughter: she seemed subconsciously aware of a deadline, and sped up her own timeline to meet her lofty goals. So there was sadness in reading those pages, but also a resounding “hear, hear” to MRO’s message of being enough, doing what you need to do to feel fulfillment and recognizing that the gift of time does run out for us all.
 
But Mrs. Obama inspired me in yet another way: late one afternoon as I was searching for details on one of my appearances next week at a Chapters Indigo store, I came across a 2-star-out-of-5 review of my book from a man who’d read it and left his opinion on a website. (When I saw the two stars, an inner voice said, Don’t read it! but my curiosity won out.) I’m glad I did. I disagree with his opinion, but if everyone liked the same books, there would be a super long waiting list at the library, right?
  
Then I went and looked for reviews of Mrs. Obama’s mega-bestseller Becoming and, sure enough, on an adjacent site, someone said she was skipping through early chapters because in her words it was “boring.” But what the woman’s complaint centered on were the formative childhood and university years. Her “review” specifically mentioned “college roommates.” And yet, that story of her college roommate is the one that resonated with me most clearly.
 
So, I’ll call that a “bonus feature” of Becoming. A reminder that the question a young Michelle Robinson often asked herself – Am I enough? – won’t always be answered “yes” by the people around you. But when the answer inside you is resoundingly positive, that’s almost entirely all that matters.
 
I’ll have more for you here tomorrow. I’m so excited to be back – and glad you are, too.
 

Hi there –
 
I’ll be back with fresh journals on Monday, May 27, but I wanted to tell you something I hope will be of interest to you. A NEW DATE has been added to appearances in June – an afternoon in Markham – and I thought journal readers should be among the very first to know.
 
As you may have seen in the What’s Up section of my homepage, I’m coming to Ontario the week of June 2:
 
June 3 – Indigo Mississauga (7 pm in conversation with CHFI’s Michelle Butterly)
 
June 4 – Reclaiming Joy with Erin Davis (7 pm at Flato Markham Theatre) in conversation with Beverly Thomson of CTV
JUST ADDED: JUNE 4 RECLAIMING JOY WITH YOU-KNOW-WHO AT 2 PM AT FLATO MARKHAM THEATRE, also in conversation with Beverly Thomson of CTV
 
June 5 – Indigo Kitchener (7 pm in conversation with CHYM’s Adele Newton)
 
June 6 – An Afternoon with Erin Davis (11 am to 2 pm at Tangle Creek Golf Club in Thornton near Alliston) to benefit Matthew’s House Hospice
 
Links to get directions and/or ticket information for all of the above can be found in the What’s Up section (just scroll up, if you’re reading this today). 
 
I look forward to seeing you.