Page:The Fun of It.pdf/109

Rh spectacular headlines. He was front page “news,” she was even front-pager (again the accident of sex).

In all, I think thirty-two cities asked us to visit them. Speedily I discovered I was a native of Bos­ton, Kansas City, Chicago, Des Moines, Los An­geles and several way points. (I have told you be­fore of my childhood in many states.) At all events, though the friendliness and undeserved honor of their invitations were appreciated, it was impossible to accept many of them.

On the advice of those who helped me, we first went to several cities, and then so far as I was concerned, went into retirement. Had the prof­fered schedule been accepted I might not have got home for a year and a day.

But even the retirement was reasonably strenu­ous. Today, if you ever figure in any unusual ex­ploit, be it a flight, a voyage in a small boat, or, say, a channel swim, paraphrasing Alice in Won­derland, “There’s a publisher close behind you who is treading on your heels.” Writing a book seems inevitable. My “porpoise” wanted his book in a hurry. They always do, and so the first weeks of “rest” were devoted to completing a little volume called 20 hrs. 40 min.

Between chapters I talked to editors, promoters, airline operators, and educators with propositions generous, preposterous, or inviting. Before any commitments were made, the book was completed. Clearly, it was time to get into the air again.