SUN VALLEY, ID (2016) "Hemingway House"

I spotted a pair of loafers and checking the brand, found they were ERNEST HEMINGWAY loafers. I hadn't known there was such a brand. The shoes were mid-level quality, probably made in China.

In January, 2016, I received an email from a middle school in Sun Valley, Idaho, asking if I was available to do a presentation based on my book Gender Blender, a humorous middle grade novel I’d written a couple years before.  

My appearance would be part of an exhibition the Sun Valley Arts Center was putting on, entitled:  Role Play: Changing Ideas about Gender.  So it wasn’t my talent or reputation that got me the gig.  It was the fact that my book Gender Blender, had the word “gender” in its title. 

I also didn’t know that events like this, in 2016, were part of the gradual build up to what would became the “gender revolution” which now preoccupies our society and especially our schools.  By taking the gig, I was unwittingly helping advance this movement. 

None of this was obvious at the time.  Not to me.  I was happy to receive a free plane ticket, free accommodations, a sizeable honorarium, etc.  Plus, I would be in Sun Valley, which in my mind, was a glamorous ski resort.

I flew from Portland to Salt Lake City and then rode in a small prop plane to Hailey, Idaho, the small town below the ski area.  I was dropped off at the “Historic Hailey House”, where I would stay, and which was famous as Ezra Pound’s birthplace.

I unpacked and then went for a walk to check out the town.  Downtown Hailey (pop. 8,000) was one main street, a few blocks long.  It was grey and raining outside, not the sunny winter wonderland I had been promised.  I jogged across Highway 75, which did have an occasional car or truck coming through.  The nice thing—even on a cold, wet day—was the remoteness. There was a sense of adventure in being in such a place.

I entered a small supermarket where I bought some snacks and loitered, looking at the people, to see what the Idahoans were like.  I didn’t get any particular feel for them. 

Then I discovered a thrift store, off the main street.  This was exciting.  Thrift stores in resort areas can have great stuff.  I didn’t buy anything but I was glad to poke around.  I spotted a pair of loafers and checking for the brand, found they were ERNEST HEMINGWAY loafers.  I had not known there was such a brand.  The shoes were mid-level quality, probably made in China.

That night I had dinner with the people who had brought me there.  Such dinners are usually not super interesting, the conversations being polite and perfunctory.  But I ate a lot so I wouldn’t be hungry later. 

I spent the night in my room at the historic Hailey House, where there was no TV or any other entertainment except for the ghost of Ezra Pound, who I learned from Wikipedia was imprisoned briefly for his pro-Fascist views after WW2. But then was released when his poet friends convinced a judge he was insane.

The next morning, I had to give my talk. I had my usual Power Point Presentation ready.  This was designed for high school students.  I had tweaked it a bit to accommodate the 12 to 14 yr. olds I would be addressing that day. 

I had totally forgotten about the “gender” theme.  Nobody had mentioned that.  And so I never did either.  My power point was pictures of Vans shoes, skateboards, cool teenagers being cool, dorky teenagers being dorky.  As I showed these pictures, I would explain how I tried to stay up to date on teen-age trends.  Then I made fun of myself for not really understanding those trends. Also, I would make fun of high school in general, which the kids usually appreciated.