Exciting News from the Curmudgeon

Greetings, gentle readers, and welcome to a breaking news edition of GGR! That's right, it's time for me to reveal the source for my sporadic posting, lapses into silence, and all-around jittery behavior as of late.

I am writing a book! Yes, for real this time.

Before any of you start hyperventilating about whether I'm finally going to publish my long-awaited novel about a young boy, his lactose-intolerant aardvark sidekick, and their quest to find Jimmy Hoffa's body, let me put the kibosh on that particular fantasy right off.
It is not a novel. It does not focus on the antics of a streetwise teen and his insect-ingesting mammalian playmate. Nor does it involve any other fanciful whims that spring to life from my notoriously fertile/unreliable brain.

In fact, I am writing a pictorial history of Waco for a company called Arcadia Publishing. As of a few weeks ago, I am officially under contract with a deadline of early December to have the book written, proofed, and sent to the printers. Consider me officially big time. And, coincidentally, Big Time Stressed.

The title will be "Images of America: Waco." It's part of a series they've been doing for a number of years; towns all across America with rich histories and a plethora of pictures are their prime targets, and they've wanted to add Waco to the series for some time now. Fortunately for them (and, perhaps, unfortunately for me), I came in contact with Arcadia at the Texas Association of Museums annual conference back in March, and through a series of back-and-forth communiques, it was determined that they wanted me to write the book. I was flattered, to say the least.

The book will be available nationwide in the spring of next year. It will feature 127 pages of high quality photographs spanning from 1849 to 2000; each photo will be accompanied by an extended caption. I'm also going to include some chapter introductions and a couple of two-page panorama shots.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), I'm very excited about this project. Not only will it be an awesome opportunity personally, but I hope this book will help people see Waco in a different light. Perhaps next time when I tell someone I'm from Waco they'll say, "Oh, that's where the first bridge over the Brazos River was built!" and not, "Hey, that's where the Feds burned all those kids and religious zealots alive! Whacko!" Sure, that may be a bit of a lofty goal, but I'm a dreamer if nothing else.

I'm putting out the call across town for people's help in getting images and information, so if you know someone in Waco who might be a good source, please pass along any relevant info -- I'll be much obliged. And don't be surprised if I start posting even less frequently as the deadline starts to loom. I'm committed to getting this thing written (while working full-time AND going to grad school), but it may mean a dip in my sanity reserves and a lack of longing for writing blog posts.

But I shall try to keep you all up-to-date on my endeavors, and I won't completely forsake this so recently claimed land on the frontier of the Internet. Just cut a Curmudgeon some slack if he's not as witty or verbally astute as usual, would you kindly?

Until next time, this is the Curmudgeon saying spread the word far and wide: there's a new Waco pictorial history book headed to town, and it's playing for keeps.