Not of This Earth
/Today’s Sunday Memo is an excerpt from my weekly Substack newsletter called: Love Me Avenue. You can subscribe for free, if you’d like. The title, here, Not of This Earth refers to the 1957 movie by that name. I believe there was a remake (maybe two) with the same title—I can’t vouch for those movies, but this 1957 one scared me as much as any movie, when I was a kid. There’s a space alien named Johnson—the movie is about him—and ever since, that quite common name always reminds me of this movie. The guidebook restaurant I’m referring to is called Pine Wood Inn.
This restaurant listing, in my 1950 guidebook, is pretty uninspiring—that’s the beauty of the random pick! I used to drop a magic marker on a map to decide where I was going to move to. Well, it never worked out. Open summers only, the Pine Wood Inn and Cottages was in New Durham, New Hampshire—in my opinion, that’s one too many News, in the destination (no News is good news). If it’s still there, it’s well-camouflaged—or else has turned into a place called: Johnson’s. (The naturalistic illustration in the book does resemble Johnson’s.) (No Howard in evidence.) At any rate, Johnson’s looks great, it seems to cover all the bases—seafood, steak, ice cream, beer, nachos. What else is there to do in town? Well, I’m guessing there’s fishing (there’s always fishing), and whittling, but it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere to stay. I’ve got to say, except for Johnson’s—not the most welcoming spot! At least according to my internet map. Don’t confuse it with Durham, NH, which is nearby, and bigger. People would often confuse my hometown, Sandusky, with Upper Sandusky, Ohio—not the same place at all! Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk is from Sandusky, and Cathy Timberlake is from Upper Sandusky—which is up river from Sandusky, not north of, as some people assume. Before there was GPS, people would sometimes make that mistake and end up drowned in Lake Erie.
No recipe, except for this recipe for despair. I’m not talking about the federal buffoonery news, but that, too. But here at home, I have a new book coming. It’s a novel, again self-published. The title: Around Desire. Once the advance copies arrive, I’m finally faced with the stark reality that the project is over—and now it’s my responsibility to try to find readers for it. Besides being ill-equipped for that, there’s also the question of space. (I won’t mention money, because I still believe it causes as many problems as it solves—but debt is just the other side of that dark coin.) I live in a hotel room (I do pay by the month—it’s a residence hotel) and it’s small, like just over 200 square feet, I guess. Kitchenette with no counters. I share my bed with my small art collection, hundreds of records, sparkling water to sample, a box of bar soaps yet to write about, lots and lots of books, my office, art studio and supplies, cameras and abandoned video projects, a few guitars, way too many clothes and twice that many shoes, all the things I’ve saved from my childhood, an AC unit (see, I’m not complaining), five fans (I need them, I’m on the third floor, facing south), boxes of collage materials, boxes of collages, several sealed time capsules, bags of sock monkeys, a carload of fabric and sewing materials, five coffee makers, a live bamboo in water, two golden pineapples with no function, and… quite a few copies of my last four books. When the new books arrive, the increased density will likely force me below the waterline.
So, here’s an idea that could work. If anyone would like to buy a copy of any one of my four previous books (look under the “MEDIA” tab), I’ll send a signed copy—and then when the new book is out, I’ll send a signed copy for free! Contact me by whichever way suits you.
—Randy Russell 3.30.25