"Author Augusten (Augie) Burroughs"

That's got to be one of the most meaningful book reading/tours I've ever been to. I absolutely believe that you can easily love people that you have never met. There are quite a few authors who I feel a strong connection to and even love for. I felt such a strong connection with Augie after reading "Running with Scissors"

He said for example that he is one of the rare authors whose not had to worry about upsetting or offending family, since he doesn't have any and never felt part of a family. (I could and can strongly relate to that) He has always hated Christmas, and I can strongly relate to that too. I think one of the character traits that A. and I share is that we both feel there is no time to feel sorry for our difficult past, so we try to put as much energy as possible into creating a rich now and a rich future for ourselves. (for as cheesy as that might come across!)

A. said that he almost died from  alcoholism and that was o.k. because he was ready to die. Except, that he knew he was supposed to write a book, so that kept him pushing on.

I have a dry sense of humor that people don't always grasp.    Augie was the same way last night. Hilarious, but people didn't always pick up on it immediately. I love how raw and real of a person he is! He talked about how he goes to his job where he's a great success, wears Armani suits, but since he is a bed wetter, lets his bed dry out while he is at work during the day! No one in the audience laughed at him, probably because we love him and respect how open he is!

His literary agent requested him to turn over his adult journals (that was how I always assumed initially that I'd do things, I'd just publish journals) so he turned them over and his agent said you must turn this into a book. So the first book he wrote was "Dry."   When Augie saw how excited his agent was about his adult journals, he excitedly proclaimed:

"AND I HAD A REALLY FUCKED UP CHILDHOOD TOO!"

Augie's agent said: "then write that book after you write "dry!" That was his second book and movie: "Running with Scissors"

Augie said he never felt complete or whole as a person unless he was drunk. He also said, he knew he was in trouble when he realized: "I'm 30, and I've never experienced sex as a sober man!"

One of the other things that made me fall in love even more with Augie was how gracious and kind he was to his audience. He got silly questions, smart questions, not so smart questions and even questions from a mentally ill woman.   The audience , sadly, made fun of her, but Augie treated her and everyone else with the utmost of respect, treating no question as if it were a stupid one. The sick audience member spoke in labored speech, asking if the A.A. program is comprised of a 12 step program as well as asking him if he made amends to people he has hurt in the past.

Another woman, who was pretty charming, said: "Augie, all of the other questions are so intelligent, and I can't think of any intelligent questions, so I want to thank you for "running with scissors," and "Dry" and since I can't think of anything more profound, I was wondering:

"What is your favorite color?!"

Augie replied, "brown....................and blue, he smiled graciously and the audience laughed (not at, but with the woman asking the question)

I said in yesterday's blog...... "no romantic overtones suggested because augie is gay" but on second thought I'd like to revamp my statement!

"Darn it! Augie is gay!"

(Augie is one my biggest literary and human influences!)