Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 10:44PM I've got a new humor piece posted to the Lovable Losers Literary Revue. It's called "Scapegoats," and is about the Chicago Cubs and the Curse of the Billy Goat, written from a goat's point of view.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 06:39AM A busy week ahead, starting with my pinch-hitting assignment tonight reading at the 3rd installment of the Lovable Losers Literary Revue.
I was called off the Losers bench when Newsweek's Jonathan Alter got called away at the last minute. Apparently, Alter's employer thought it more important for him to cover an historic speech by Sen. Barack Obama in Minnesota than to hang out with Losers in Wrigleyville. Trading me for Alter is akin to the Cubs' trading Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio, but it was the best we could do on short notice.
Stop by El Jardin at 7:30 and catch me reading a short Cubs historical humor piece, "Three Guys Named Moe." If that's not enough to pull you in, we've also got mystery writer D.C. Brod, Wall Street Journal writer and author Jonathan Eig, and free nachos.
This weekend, I'll be taking a cue from Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and playing a double-header at the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago. I'll be signing books at the Chicago Writers Association booth Saturday and Sunday. My "official" signing time is 10-2 Saturday, but I'll be around all weekend in my capacity as the CWA's president. You can find the CWA at sidewalk tables 245 and 247, smack dab in the middle of the fair, sandwiched between the Good Eating Pavilion and the Heartland Stage. Download a map of the fair here.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 11:31PM I was shopping at Barnes & Noble with my son the other day, when I saw it by the checkout stand, on a Father's Day table display. It was "Chicken Soup for the Father & Son Soul," an anthology to which I had contributed two stories. Two stories I had written about my experiences in fatherhood. Two stories about my son.
It was just me and my son in the bookstore. My wife had left us there so that she could shop for jewelry and clothes. It seemed like one of those perfect father-son moments.
So I stopped, opened the book and pointed to the two stories. "Do you know who wrote these?" I asked my almost 5-year-old.
"You?"
I nodded. "You see, that's my name, right there."
"Um, when are we going to the kids' section?"
I closed the book and placed it back on the table. "Let's go to the kids' section."
It was a father-son moment I will forever treasure.
Randy Richardson
You'll find my stories, "Stroller Derby Season" and "Kids and Grown-ups: Different as Knight and Day," on pages 242 and 249, respectively, of "Chicken Soup for the Father & Son Soul," now available at all major bookstores. Just look for it on the Father's Day display table.
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 11:31PM I confess to being more than a little ashamed and embarrassed by this one, but it's out there, posted to the Lovable Losers Literary Revue (LLLR) blog. It's an essay I wrote, titled "Fantasy Baseball: Marla and Me," about my past (emphasis added) infatuation with Marla Collins, the Cubs ballgirl who was fired after she posed nude for Playboy magazine.
After I submitted the piece to LLLR founder Don Evans, he asked if it was my entry for The Biggest Loser Contest. For the record, no, it is not. I'm just hoping that the statute of limitations on creepiness has expired.
Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 10:48PM I haven't had time to write more about our adventures in Japan and Hawaii, so I'll let the pictures tell the story for now. I just posted two new Picture Galleries: Lost in Translation and Gone to Maui. It was a truly incredible journey and I do hope to write more about in but first I need to recover from the jet lag.
