Grape Jelly and The Museum

A November at Raconteur Press by Editor Lisa, Part IV!

Grape Jelly and The Museum

Now, at this point, I should mention that something which took priority during the week was representing someone who could not attend the conference: not Ian, who was quite fine back home, but High-Class Muscle Mike, who sent a picture of Smucker’s Grape (not raspberry) Jelly as we were settling into the suite that first evening (jelly=jealous). Wally happened to be putting together a grocery order at the same time. So The Great Grape Jelly Tour began. Remember the traveling garden gnome in Amélie? We immediately decided to take The Jelly on a Vegas photo tour as a way to simultaneously represent and annoy Mike.

We ventured out Friday afternoon, our last full day there, to the Arte Museum. With The Jar.

This is a visual record of events that may or may not have taken place.

Then we found the room with classical art and basked.

The tour ends with tea, with interactive flowers and a moon crescent shining down upon the cups. Jonna blissed out and made lovely trails with her cup.

The tables are wood, and the lights, coming from the ceiling, we realized, were reacting to anything reflective. That meant only one thing:

By this time, Jonna was simply referring to The Jar as Mike.

We exited out of some very Vice Noir corridors . . .

. . . And hit the Taco Bell Cantina, which also had a ceiling light show (and sold margaritas).

Heading Home

Like all whirlwinds, the week ended quickly. Wally left before sunrise; Jonna hopped into her car, Jar in tow, for San Francisco to sell her beautiful capes at Dickens Fair; Nick and I Ubered over to the airport not long after. I was sad to leave after such a fun and intense week, knowing that Jonna wouldn’t be back until January.

So I called in the heavy reinforcements once back in Fort Worth and met Ben for lunch. After he armed me with Gordon R. Dickson, Tim Powers, James H. Schmitz, and a Tom Godwin on loan, we exchanged highlights of our travels, he having returned from New York and on the way to Philcon. I showed him The Jelly Photos.

“You might want to be careful with that,” he said, passing my cellphone back. “It could escalate.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” I said. He nodded and proceeded to tell me stories about his friend Bruce Pelz.

Escalating the silliness is just what Rac Press does. We’re a silly little family that is dead serious about putting out good books and having fun along the way. And that’s something YOU can be part of.

Until next time!