SBL Day 4

Last day. I realized that I had forgotten to send BookNews yesterday, so I sent that off. The last day is always interesting; you never know what to expect. You know that Brill and Oxford are going to run a last day special and that there will be a line at the door. You just never know how long the line will be. Since I saw so many suitcases yesterday, I figured the lines would be short, and they were. Last year there were probably 200 people waiting, but this year only saw about 50.

I spent the early part of the morning checking with Mohr Siebeck and Deo to make sure that the books we were taking back with us were going to be ready. With Mohr Siebeck, I have to decide which series to take, since they have some that don't sell for us.

I also made a last run through the hall to make sure I hadn't missed any books that I can't live without :) Every year I say that I won't be bringing as many books home as I took. Every year, I end up being wrong. This year was no exception. You'll hear about them here as I read them.

The morning was slower; most people seemed to have left already. We started consolidating and putting bookstands away; it helps with tear down to do that ahead of time. Some of the smaller publishers started tearing down and leaving, but we stayed open and selling until after closing. Allan got the idea of turning himself into a walking billboard for Eisenbrauns. Merna made two signs, one for front and back, and pinned them to him. He just had surgery, so he is using a crutch. It was funny to watch him walking up and down the hall with the crutch and sign. A few other publishers asked if they could rent space on him, too. We all had a good laugh, but I doubt it made a difference in sales.

Dave and I had to catch an early flight, so anything that we could do to make it quicker, while still being able to sell, helped. When I left at a little after 1:00, we were well ahead of schedule. Having Johanna and Allan definitely helped.

When we got to the airport and were checking in, the attendant noticed that Dave's driver's license was expired. Good thing they didn't notice it at O'Hare on the way out, we might have missed our flight! They gave his the royal treatment—patting him down, going through everything, the whole deal. Me, I just went through security as usual. Once Dave finally got through, we reunited and had a late lunch and waited for our flight. They are calling us to board right now, so I am signing off.

Later, in flight. The flight is very bumpy. The pilot just announced that the worst was behind us and we would be going faster to make up for lost time. But, as is sure to happen, it suddenly became even bumpier! No pretzels and drinks this flight :) We will be landing at Newark soon for a two hour layover, and then catching our flight to O'Hare. Dave just told me that he forgot and put his keys in the suitcase, so I hope our luggage doesn't take the scenic route. I don't relish the idea of spending the night in Chicago if it does!