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Christene "Cookie" Meyers at the dedication of the Bruce Meyers Poets Garden, May, 1993, on the campus of Montana State University-Billings, then Eastern Montana College. Three of the professor's poems etched on marble were written on the memorial site. The garden is listed in the Smithsonian's list of public art (see link below.)  STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Architect Ted Wirth and EMC president Bruce Carpenter discuss the project at the groundbreaking in fall of 1992. EACH SPRING,   Bruce Kemp Meyers and his writing students left the indoor classroom for an inviting outdoors venue.  They gathered on the lawn near the Liberal Arts Building on the campus of then Eastern Montana College. It proved a tradition which Meyers continued for 25 years. He joined the class in writing poems, short stories and essays. They talked about their goals, shared ideas. It was a special place for my talented, nature loving husband, a way to greet spring and celebrate his gifts in a comfortable place. The late poet Allen Ginsberg made a spectacular guest appearance at the dedication of the "Bruce Garden."  BRUCE'S STUDENTS  loved these outdoor writing workshops; so did he. So when he passed away suddenly in February of 1992, I knew precisely where I'd like his memorial to be: On the lawn outside the L.A. Building, where he'd logged happy hours each spring since his first year on campus in 1967 until his death, in February, 1992. The memorial includes poems written on the site. That idea grew to include a garden and poet's corner to honor the creativity that unfolded there. I wanted it to be a place for visitors to remember him, and a haven to welcome other artists. I CALLED my friend, architect Ted Wirth, who had followed our theater career. We'd also served on boards and committees and I'd interviewed him for the newspaper. He loved the idea and wanted to make my dream come true.  The two of us approached then EMC president Bruce Carpenter, also a good friend, an original thinker who played poker with Bruce and a group of other professors.  Corby Skinner, left, and Christene Meyers discuss the program on tap. Poet Allen Ginsberg was waiting in the wings.  HE, TOO , liked the idea.  So the process began. Over coffee, Ted and I created a space designed to relax and inspire. The front has a formal look, enhanced by granite and marble.  At its center is a bronze of Bruce sculpted by our longtime friend, fellow actor and Emmy-winning Hollywood special effects artist Andy Schoneberg.  A metal sculpture of our Airedale dog was created by artist Lyndon Pomeroy to illustrate one of the poems, "Gandalf." On the garden's sides are benches. A welcoming archway was inspired by our trips to Japan. Perennials and lilacs flank a brick wall, accented by a Jay Montague sculpture.  Aspen and river rock create a woodsy look. An overview of the Bruce Meyers Garden and Poets Corner. THROUGH the years, the garden has become a favorite spot of faculty, staff and students. Some take their lunch break there. Nearby residents walk, run and bike by daily.  Several professors carry on the tradition of convening  classes there -- to study art, language, philosophy and of course, writing. Bruce Kemp Meyers is remembered with a bronze, poems and a garden. A 10-year event, the annual "Bruce Bash," brought together writers, musicians, actors and artists to celebrate the arts and honor Bruce. But the first arts festival celebration in May of 1993 was hard to top. Headliner was poet Allen Ginsberg, who was in Billings for a Writer's Voice appearance. When he heard of the dedication through Corby Skinner, he extended his Billings visit to participate. Also on tap were Marcia Spalding's bellissimo! bell choir, Alice Lyon's Community Youth Chorale, actors from Billings Studio Theatre, Starfire, and students and faculty from both MSU-B and Rocky Mountain College. The Nell, Roberty, Edwards Trio played jazz to wild applause and Ginsberg's 45-minute performance brought down the house. Sculptor Andy Schoneberg and a windblown Christene Meyers at the dedication of the garden. YELLOWSTONE Public Radio's Marvin Granger and his staff broadcast the event live on Yellowstone Public Radio. Director Skip Lundby  kept the program running smoothly.     A book of Meyers' poems, "Ventriloquist in the Rain," debuted.  It is still available -- in its fourth printing. Funds from the first edition helped establish the Bruce Meyers Scholarship Endowment at MSU-Billings.  Contributions are welcome at the college's Foundation (see link below.) One of the recipients shared the stage with Bruce.  She played an orphan in our dinner theater production of "Annie" and said she was inspired to pursue a teaching and English career by Bruce, who played Daddy Warbucks. "He wished us to 'break a leg' before each performance. I couldn't understand why he would say that when we had so much dancing to do," she wrote in her thank-you note.) Alice Lyon in blue conducts her Community Youth Chorale at the first annual Bruce Kemp Meyers Arts Festival (the Bruce Bash) in May of 1993. MEANWHILE, the garden - like all growing things -- evolves and changes.  The spirit of its creation remains:  a calming, inclusive place on campus where people come -- alone or in groups -- to contemplate the contributions of a talented man who influenced many. "Bruce Meyers: poet, actor, teacher," reads the inscription.  May his memory live on.   Here is the Smithsonian Institution's link to the garden: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM847Y_Bruce_Meyers_Billings_Montana Here is the university foundation's link to the English scholarship in Bruce's memory:   https://msubfoundation.com/make-a-gift/donate-today/ (A field asks the donor where he'd like to direct a gift; type in Bruce Meyers Scholarship. Contributions are tax deductible and help fund annual gifts to English majors. The awards began in 1993. The Foundation also maintains the garden, as per a 1993 agreement.) Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett "Cheek to Cheek" tour, in a spectacular Bruce Keller photo from our orchestra seats.   UP NEXT:  While we're remembering and saluting a life in the arts, another performer comes to mind.  Singer Tony Bennett will turn 95 this August, and we honor his life in the arts, noting his struggle with Alzheimer's.  The writer of this column has been a Tony Bennett fan since childhood, listening to her parents' albums.  Bruce Keller and I have seen him in concert five times, three times with Lady Gaga. His art has kept him lively and engaged. Meanwhile, remember to explore, learn and live and catch us each week for a refreshing look at travel, entertainment, nature and family: whereiscookie.com

Editor's Note: This story was written a few years before Meyers and Keller were married in a pop-up ceremony during a family reunion in her native state, Montana. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS: VINTAGE and BRUCE KELLER The famous photo taken on VJ Day at Times Square,1945, inspired the "Kiss" sculpture that inspired this column. Top photo: Bruce Keller and Christene Meyers on a date in San Diego. THIS VALENTINE'S  week, with "The Kiss" statue back in San Diego, I'm taking a cue from a holiday at the other end of the year, Thanksgiving. How fortunate am I to have had three great loves. True, I lost two much loved husbands to illness. "The B Boys," as my baby sister Robbie called them, were Bruce and Billy. No one thinks her love will drop dead.  If I'd known  two  husbands would die and disappear from the planet but not my heart, would I have said "I do" twice? I would. Damn straight. Better to have loved and lost (and other time- honored cliches.)  Besides, I'm one lucky dame. Lucky for having known these two magnificent men.  That we bumped into one another at all is a wonder.  That we romped, read, shared, danced, dined, traveled and teased together is a miracle.  The "glass half empty" take would have me draped in black, a grumpy dowager in a wicker rocker tossing stale bread to birdies. Growing fat on cheesecake and cheap sherry. Reading Jane Austen for the fifth time. BUT I AM  a Montana girl.  I got back on the horse. First in 1992 after losing Bruce to an aneurysm.  Next in 2005 after Bill died of cancer. The first horse took me to Billy.  The second led me to Bruce William Keller. A little history: "Husband the first," as my family says, was Bruce Kemp Meyers, born in Ohio, only son of an only son of an only son. "Husband second not lesser" was William Dennis Jones, native Arizonan, also an only son. The writer with her first husband, Bruce Kemp Meyers, on the QEII. Bruce and I were married in the shadow of Woodstock and the Moon Landing.  We courted at a nightclub atop the Billings Rimrocks, shared a passion for cruising, hiked the Rockies, toured Europe multiple times on Eurail passes, took harrowing trips in his forest green Road Runner.  He drove "the green beast" (my nickname, not his!) 30 or 40 miles over the speed limit, including a two-day marathon to Cleveland one sweltering summer, making it to the shores of Lake Erie in 30 whiz-bang hours.   WE HAD nearly 23 action-packed, theater-filled years together, traveling the world, acting and singing in plays and musicals to save a vintage Montana theater.  He was my poetry professor and I learned the craft from him. He played a mean Gibson guitar -- blues, country and original songs -- while I played saxophone, piano, violin and harmonica.  He was a brilliant photographer, illustrating my travel articles as Bruce Keller now does.  Billy wrote poetry, too, and was a fine watercolor painter.  Where Bruce encouraged my poetry, Billy urged me to take up the brushes.  We booked back-roads bike and painting treks in New England and conducted poetry and painting workshops in Provence, Tuscany and the Caribbean.  Both Bruce and Billy were fabulous dancers. Lucky for this lifelong hoofer. The writer with her second husband, William Dennis Jones, in Portugal. The pair commuted between Arizona and Montana for 11 years before Billy's death in 2005. Billy and I had half as long as Bruce and I -- just over 11 years together, also traveling, painting, cruising the world, writing music together. Making one another laugh.      IN FREQUENT  forays into the literature of grief, I read that if one has experienced a long successful relationship, one usually yearns for another. I have the ashes of "the B Boys" in two beautiful porcelain urns created by my brother Rick. I'm in no hurry to fill a third urn. There may not be a third "I do".  But I have a delightful partner in Bruce William Keller. If you've noticed the repetition of certain names, you're a savvy reader.       The writer, left, and her partner, Bruce William Keller. Secure in Cookie's love for him, he realizes that her two late husbands, Bruce and Billy, are part of her life. Keller's full handle contains the names of both husbands.  Thus the "Keller" moniker. Or "Bruce the Second" as the clan says. Thank goodness his last name is a sensible two syllables, not some six-syllable, multi-consonant, tongue-tying moniker. When we were introduced in 2007, I nearly fainted.  "Really? Your first name is really Bruce?" I sputtered. "And your middle name is William. You're kidding." Cautiously, he confirmed this double irony. My knees buckled.  Noticing my pallor and collapse in the nearest chair, he asked politely why his perfectly decent first and middle names upset me so. I told him. "Well, it looks as if Bruce and William are both taken," he opined. "Keller sounds great to me." Cookie, Keller sailing -- he accompanies her to the theatre; she learned to sail. WHAT A GUY!  The rest is history. My family adores Keller.  None of us will forget our time with Bruce or Billy.  But this smart, secure fellow stepped into two tall shadows and made his own place in our hearts. While Bruce and Billy were professional writers -- a college professor and film critic -- Keller is an oceanographer and chief building contractor.  He creates art from lumber, paint and a vivid blend of imagination and horse sense. We sail Mission Bay together.  We've been to Europe many times and have more trips planned.  We explored the Middle East, where he spent two years diving and researching on the Red Sea. We've cruised the Caribbean, Far East and South America. We've collaborated on travel and arts articles. (His gorgeous photos illustrate this website!  He has his painter mother's eye for composition and color.) He is kind, compassionate and loves yorkies Nick and Nora.  And, yes, he loves to dance, too! KELLER IS responsible for getting my novel, "Lilian's Last Dance" out of a dusty box of floppy discs and onto bookshelves. Keller's part in Cookie's novel Taking a page from that great guru of the '70s, Baba Ram Dass, I'm trying to "Be Here Now."  To be grateful for my health, loved ones and this engaging man.  To appreciate the moment  -- right now, a splendid, sun-dappled San Diego afternoon with hummingbirds out the window and Yorkies at my feet.      WHAT ARE  the odds I'd find a third guy willing to see eight plays in five days with me?  We'll be soaking up a theater marathon later this month at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the puppies in tow, the dog-friendly Ashland Springs Hotel home for five days of play-going Love is larger than life in "The Kiss," whose arrival in San Diego inspired an homage to three men  Cookie has loved.       When "The Kiss" is dedicated in San Diego this Saturday, I'll be there.  This new bronze, inspired by the famous 1945 Life magazine photo of a sailor kissing a nurse, tells me that plenty of people out there want to honor romance and keep it alive.  The 10 a.m. ceremony will dedicate the bronze, and acknowledge the sentimental San Diegans who chipped in over $1 million after an earlier, much loved statue was returned to its owner. Keller and I will be holding hands, maybe having a wee smooch ourselves! Coming Saturday :   A tale of a beloved mother and sister love set against a rollicking European tour at   whereiscookie.com We publish each weekend, remembering to explore, learn and live!

AUTHOR THANKS READERS FOR PATIENCE, LOVE, SUPPORT!   Extra : "Something in addition to what is due, expected, or customary" Roll 'em, friends! "Lilian's Last Dance" is on Amazon eBooks today!!! Hooray.  HERE'S A  brief "extra." We are thrilled to tell you that "Lilian's Last Dance" is finally up on Amazon eBooks. This has been the longest 20 hours of my life, since we received Amazon's "thumbs up" on the final edit at 9:11 a.m. Wednesday. Here's the link: Click Here ==> Lilian's Last Dance Writers Bill Jones, Christene Meyers  on the Queen Elizabeth II, researching "Lilian's Last Dance" in 1998. Hope you have as much fun reading it as we've had writing it, designing it, following its characters around the world, editing it with painstaking persistence and getting it properly formatted for publication. As our agent/guru says, "It's like giving birth.  And we're the midwives."  I'm recalling Butterfly McQueen's famous line in "Gone with the Wind": "Miss Scarlet, I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies! ...... Christene Meyers (Cookie) and Bruce Keller in the Hollywood Hills, on the trail of the characters in the just out novel. But I do know plenty about performance, anticipation, waiting in the wings, stealing that extra bow. Very happy at this moment, and grateful for all the support and encouragement.  "Lilian" has been a long time coming! Let's hope readers believe it worth the wait and share their comments on Amazon! So happy reading. We'll be blogging about the ups and downs of writing, researching and getting the novel into print -- from its 1997 inception to its completion last week. COMING SATURDAY:  Where we went, how we crafted the characters in "Lilian's Last Dance." We followed the action from the rain forests of Peru to the Hollywood Hills, Gertrude Stein's art salon in Paris and more. Remember to explore, learn and live. Carpe diem! Tell your friends about www.whereiscookie.com

QEII lecturer Josh Logan gave tips A poster for "Annie Get Your Gun'' inspired the creation of Lilian in "Lilian's Last Dance." on making a character come alive Click here ==> Lilian's Last Dance STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS CROSSING  the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth II, in the summer of 1986, famed Broadway producer and director Josh Logan was one of the guest lecturers. He was one of my idols, for I'd grown up with the music of "Annie Get Your Gun," and "South Pacific," both of which he directed. My late husband, Bruce Meyers, an accomplished actor and creative writing professor, encouraged me to approach Logan and express my interest in his legacy and his passion:  musical theater. Writers Bill Jones and Cookie were characters in a seafaring "drama," crossing on the famed Queen Elizabeth II, where earlier Christene and Bruce Meyers met, dined with and interviewed brilliant Broadway director, Josh Logan. Famed Broadway director Josh Logan took time with Christene Meyers years ago on an Atlantic crossing. HE WAS GRACIOUS,  and delighted to visit. Although he was elderly, and sometimes used a walker or wheelchair, he came alive when talking about theater. I took notes on his lively lectures and several private conversations during that crossing.  He died two years later, in 1988, leaving a legacy to the world -- and invaluable advice for this reporter! Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas made many Atlantic crossings, and are cameos in "Lilian's Last Dance."  We studied their lives. The iconic Eiffel Tower plays a small part in "Lilian...." too. LOGAN TOLD ME that research and "reinvention" are critical to making the characters come alive. "Know your characters' history, but make them your own," he said. Before "South Pacific" he studied James Michner's "Tales of the South Pacific," which inspired the musical. He also visited the islands many times. The Paris cabaret scene inspired us to envision what a show might have been like in Paris 100 years ago . TAKING  a cue from that wonderful week on the ocean with a genius Broadway great, the creation of "Lilian's Last Dance" took me on many journeys. Bruce and I, then Billy and I, and later Keller and I, traveled to Hawaii, England, France, Australia, Peru and many mainland North American states. The work survived both the death of Bruce and of my second husband and "Lilian" collaborator, Bill Jones. Before he passed, in 2005, we filled notebooks with useful detail.   WE COLLECTED maps, visited museums and read a dozen books about silent movies, vintage travel, art and World War I. (Part of the action unfolds on the Front.)  We located Gertrude Stein's salon in Paris, 27 rue de Fleures, where she, Alice Toklas and brother Leo entertained. We loved people watching in the fabulous Musee d'Orsay, where several of the Steins' paintings now hang. Paris and the Moulin Rouge attracted a return visit to Paris. The shows and people there inspired Paris detail in the book. We booked shows in the  much photographed Moulin Rouge, studying both audience and performers.  All helpful in making the characters come alive in believable settings. Famous Parisian gardens, avenues and night clubs make appearances in "Lilian."   WE TRAMPED  all over Paris -- from the Left Bank to Montmartre to the Jardin du Luxembourg, to the Tuileries Garden, all of which were frequented by Stein and her lover, muse and secretary. We set the scene for our character, Elfego Fuentes, to call on Stein, along with "real life" writers Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound.  By chance, Billy and I met an elderly woman whose aspiring painter grandmother was taken under Stein's generous wing. She provided marvelous detail. PAINTER ELFEGO,  one of the novel's major characters, is a South American born artist whom Stein befriends in our story. So we booked an Amazon cruise to find a village where Elfego might have grown up.  We flew to Quito, Peru, then cruised through the rain forests to Brazil. We were smudged by witch doctors and deep in the jungle located a village with structures built in the early 1900s.  This would be Elfego's birth place! More on that soon.... *********                                     Julian, California, has apples aplenty.  We hope "Lilian's Last Dance" is the apple of your eye! WE'RE EXCITED  about early reviews for "Lilian's Last Dance." Here's one from Elle Pieffe, of Rome, who liked the painter Elfego: "Lilian's daring, beautiful soul shines in the brush strokes of her Peruvian soul mate artist, in the sizzling shots of a western gunfire duel, in the silvery rain blessing Paris in winter. The mystery fades into a portrait of a person we'd love to have met.....and won't forget! You'll love this book, absolutely. (Find "Lilian's Last Dance" on Amazon eBooks.) COMING SOON: Hitting the road in Europe was part of the research for the revisiting and rewriting of "Lilian's Last Dance."  But hitting the road in America provided fun, too.   Several times, we took a break to Julian, California, one of our favorite get-aways. We love the fine dining, restful settings, fun shopping, ice cream and delicious apples for the world's best pie.  Remember: carpe diem, so explore, learn and live and visit us Wednesdays and weekends at: www.whereiscookie.com

NOVEL TELLS STORY OF EARLY AMERICAN FILM, STAGE STRUCK PERFORMERS, LOVE, REVENGE, WITH WORLD TRAVEL AND MORE -- Montana outlaws, California connections, Paris, London, actors, painters, bank robbers   Lively characters from France, England, Hawaii, Australia and the U.S. are featured in "Lilian's Last Dance," on its way to eBooks Wednesday! Editor's Note, 2025: The novel is available by contacting the author directly at: whereiscookienow@gmail.com STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "Lilian's Last Dance'' is coming your way via Amazon! It's a story of a traveling rep company enroute to Hollywood! WE ARE  awaiting the publication of the novel, "Lilian's Last Dance." The cyber elves are apparently working overtime in the print shop. We have our copyright, ISBN number, publishing ducks in a row, final edit approved by Amazon. It should be "out there" for all of you later today. The  eBook will soon be in Kindle format at Amazon. But you need not have a Kindle to enjoy it.  Keller uses an LG tablet to read e-books.  It's not a Kindle but works fine. When the book is "up" at last, search Amazon for the application appropriate for your device, download it, install it, and you'll have a new icon with which you can read Kindle e-books and "Lilian's Last Dance." Stay tuned, and e-mail us if you need additional advice or coaching: highlowchap@gmail.com Eiffel Tower -- Paris plays an important role in the novel. MEANWHILE, HERE'S the novel's skinny: War threatens to rearrange the world’s boundaries as an unlikely trio discovers love crossing all lines. A dashing bi-sexual American bank robber, beautiful French sharpshooter and pioneering British film maker star in a tale of passion, vengeance and honor. “Lilian’s Last Dance,” spans eleven action-packed years, beginning in 1907, unfolding with a radical art movement, developing film industry and the Great War. Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas have cameos in the new novel. Here they're on an Atlantic crossing. --archival art Outlaws, reporters, ranchers, actors, artists and ex-patriots converge, do battle, and occasionally break the law in settings ranging from New York, France and England to Texas, rural Montana and Hollywood. Real-life cameos include Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, Conrad Hilton, Ty Cobb, Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin, Edith Wharton, “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Gertrude Stein and many others celebrities of the day. AUTHORS BILL  Jones and Cookie crossed the Atlantic, tramped around London, Paris and Provence, and visited many U.S. states and five countries for inspiration on their characters' lives and haunts. Bruce Keller and Cookie returned to those places in editing and refining the original writing. Please check back here for updates.....at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, PST the novel was in cyber limbo, enroute to the "page" on eBooks. As we wait impatiently for the Amazon book to "appear"..... please be patience with us.  Last word is "Friday at latest...." We share your frustration and thank you for more than 100 e-mails and texts asking "when, when, when???" Soon as we know, we'll follow up to you with a link to meet and read "Lilian..."  Future blogs will tell the circuitous, lively, sometimes bittersweet tale of the novel's beginnings, sidetracks and completion. Remember, carpe diem.  Explore, learn, live and visit us Wednesdays, weekends and as the spirit moves at:  www.whereiscookie.com

'LILIAN'S LAST DANCE' OUT ON AMAZON! The cover of "Lilian's Last Dance" is a collaboration:  Cookie collected photos by Keller and Bill's cowboy watercolor. Celeste Barnett did the design.  Racy historical novel now available to readers  "...a marvelous romp through the history of film and performance, with a pure love for the stage, in whatever form it presents itself.....You'll love Lilian!" Acclaimed writer Ruth Rudner on “Lilian’s Last Dance.”  STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Click here ==>> to Dance with Lilian LIGHTS, ACTION,  drum roll! The book is out at last, a labor of love, a memorial, a tribute to time, technology, tenacity. And the human spirit! The project I developed many years ago with my late husband, William Jones, is a reality. Research took our writers to Durango, Mexico, birth place of bandit Pancho Villa, a minor player in the novel. --archival photo Billy and I began writing it during his healthy years (1997-2002). After his illness and death from cancer in 2005, I boxed up our book drafts, computer discs, travel journals and photos.  A few years ago, I dug out the boxes and began the rewrite,  mindful of the old show biz and cowboy admonition: "talk's cheap." NOW THAT IT'S  published, after a protracted "pregnancy," a bit of reflection seems right. "Lilian's Last Dance" was conceived on a lovely sunny drive in Arizona, heading home from a screening of "Good Will Hunting" in December of 1997 and a romantic night on the town. BILLY AND I PLOTTED the story on that drive, along with settings and characters, determining to visit every locale and research each plot point. We did:  Montana's wilderness, the fields and ranches of Hawaii (one of the characters is a Hawaiian paniolo with a Pancho Villa fetish), Australia's center, where one of the villains grew up, and many locales in Europe, South America and a dozen U.S. states. Our characters got around, and so did we~! The intricate story line spans an eleven-year period from 1907 to 1917. Vaudeville is alive and well, not yet fading.  The silent movies, the beloved "flickers" are paving the way for full-fledged "talkies." Bill Jones and Cookie traveled several times to Hawaii, researching for background of one of the novel's characters. A LOVE  triangle develops between an understated British filmmaker, alluring French born sharpshooter, and dashing Montana outlaw.  Bill and I spent time in both France and England, and made many U.S. driving trips from our summer home in Montana. Like the rep company, we explored Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nebraska and Texas. We spent many weekends in Hollywood, visiting the studio archives. Our years as film reviewers and my time on both sides of the footlights as performer and critic provided background and helpful contacts. WE PAID  attention to accents, landscape and weather, developing our characters' speech, dress and refining the plot. We had so much fun with our artists, actors, movie moguls, ranchers, cowboys, lawmakers and law breakers.  Each new place -- from Tulsa to Ten Sleep -- gave detail for the carnival of color we'd write the next few years. On the trail of detail for our female villain (a Hawaiian born bandit and Pancho Villa wannabe) we went to Pancho's birthplace, a barren parcel in  San Juan del Rio, Durango. We found the farm where he grew up, but since he was born in 1878 and killed in 1923, there was no one left who could remember him. It was fun to have an excuse to return to a favorite city.  Paris and its Eiffel Tower play a part in the action, as does Provence in the south. So we turned to books and museums, but through that visit got a feel for his home land, the scrubby hills he and his bandits galloped through. We tried our darndest to develop authentic people with believable traits. We visited San Francisco's Columbarium, around for  more than a century, setting for a cremation in "Lilian..." THE TITLE  character's French bakground gave us an excuse to visit Provence a couple times. Bill, a talented watercolor painter, took and taught watercolor classes during our times on the Continent. One of his paintings graces the cover of "Lilian's Last Dance." JUST AS our characters enact their theatrical drama, we felt as if we were players in the novel, too. We talked to working paniolos on the gorgeous Parker Ranch on the Big Island near Waimea.  We interviewed historians about turn-of-century bank robberies to determine what guns and disguises our outlaws might have. We visited railroad scholars for train trivia. We boned up on World War I, since parts of the novel take place on the Front.  We were thrilled to find Gertrude Stein's house in Paris, where she and Alice Toklas entertained literary and artistic luminaries. Paris and the Moulin Rouge attracted a return visit to Paris. The novel's action takes unfolds in France and the old West. We -- like the characters -- moved from the streets and bistros of Paris to London theaters that were around 100 years ago, to rural Montana, where we invented a secluded hide-out in the Beartooths. We splurged for a night at the famous Palmer House in Chicago, where our characters stayed, and we spent a day in San Francisco's Columbarium where one of the characters cremains are placed after the quake. REAL LIFE  cameos include Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Conrad Hilton, Edith Wharton, Ty Cobb, Pablo Picasso, “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Gertrude Stein and others. We read biographies of all of those, to enhance our feeling for them and our knowledge of their time. COMING SOON : Cookie and Keller forged a new trail for "Lilian's Last Dance," revisiting places she'd researched with the book's co-author, her late husband William Jones.  Here, Cookie and Keller enjoy a cabaret at the famed Moulin Rouge in Paris. With Billy departed since 2005, the dream of a novel rested in the garage in dusty boxes of computer discs, notebooks and travel photos. Cookie's partner of eight-plus years, Bruce Keller, urged her to "go for it." He suggested they recapture the momentum she'd lost for the project, spawned with Bill in the late 1990s. That meant revisiting settings for the action of "Lilian's Last Dance" -- London, Paris, the Texas panhandle, New York, rural Oklahoma, wilderness Montana, the Peruvian rain forest... The French born title character gave an excuse to return to Paris and Provence. Remember: "carpe diem" as you explore, learn and live. Check out "Lilian...." and   www.whereiscookie.com We publish Wednesdays and weekends.

European travels took us to Paris to Gertrude Stein's home Click here ==> Lilian's Last Dance The legendary Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas made many Atlantic crossings, and are cameos in "Lilian's Last Dance."                            STORY By    CHRISTENE MEYERS Crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth II was part of the fun research for "Lilian's Last Dance." Here William Jones and Christene Meyers enjoy! CREATION of "Lilian's Last Dance" took many years and trips to England, France, Australia, Peru and 11 North American states. The idea survived the deaths of my two husbands, Bruce Meyers in 1992, and William Jones, in 2005.   Bruce and I had dreams of a Broadway musical about a sharpshooter from France.  Billy and I collaborated on the concept that would become "Lilian's Last Dance." HE AND I  determined to visit each place featured in the book. In the "good years," before chemotherapy and radiation, we made exciting pilgrimages to Europe and South America's rain forests.  We took a dozen happy U.S. road trips. We plotted research weekends, working vacations and photo shoots. We read three dozen hefty books and studied articles on the post 1907-era.  We visited 20 museums and arranged interviews. We crossed the Atlantic three times, in the fashion of our invented characters and "real life" people who have cameos in our novel, including Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. OUR U.S. TRAVELS  took us through Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Montana, San Francisco and Los Angeles, places our characters inhabited before the novel's 1917 ending. The iconic Eiffel Tower plays a part in "Lilian....". Our characters came alive as we retraced their fictional footsteps.  We felt that we, too, were players in the novel. We talked to working paniolos on the beautiful Parker Ranch on the Big Island of Hawaii. A trip to the lush Peruvian rain forest was part of our research for the  birthplace of the character Elfego who becomes a famous painter in "Lilian...." We interviewed historians about turn-of-century bank robberies.  We talked to fashion and art experts, to determine what kinds of guns and disguises our outlaws might have used, what fashions and paintings people were buying. WE READ  a dozen books about World War I, since part of the action unfolds on the Front.  We located Gertrude Stein's salon in Paris, where she and Alice  entertained at their famed salon. We saw in the fabulous Musee d'orsay some of the paintings which hung in the jam-packed treasure trove collected by Stein, Toklas the Gertrude's brother Leo. Picasso's famous portrait of Stein. She hung it in her Paris salon, where our characters are invited.   We booked shows in the  much photographed Moulin Rouge.  Famous Parisian gardens, avenues and night clubs all play a part in the drama of "Lilian's Last Dance." Famous Parisian gardens, avenues and night clubs all play a part in the drama of "Lilian's Last Dance."  WE TRAMPED  all over Paris -- from the Left Bank to Montmartre to the Jardin du Luxembourg, to the Moulin Rouge and  the Tuileries Garden, all of which were frequented by Stein and her lover cum secretary, Toklas. We found the home where Stein entertained, at 27 rue de Fleurus.  There, our character, Elfego Fuentes, comes calling, along with "real life" writers Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound.  By chance, we met an elderly woman whose aspiring painter grandmother was taken under Stein's generous wing. She provided marvelous detail. PAINTER ELFEGO  is one of the novel's major characters, a South American born artist whom Stein befriends. So we booked an Amazon cruise to find a village where Elfego might have grown up.  We flew to Quito, Peru, then cruised through the rain forests to Brazil. Curiosity about the Hawaiian paniolo provided an excuse for a return trip to Hawaii's Big Island and the Parker Ranch. We were smudged by witch doctors. Deep in the Peruvian jungle, we found a village settled in the early 1900s.  This would be Elfego's birth place! More later... ********* WE'RE EXCITED  about early reviews for "Lilian's Last Dance." Here's one from Elle Pieffe, of Rome, who liked the title character and her relationship with painter Elfego Fuentes: "Lilian's daring, beautiful soul shines in the brush strokes of her Peruvian soul mate artist, in the sizzling shots of a western gunfire duel, in the silvery rain blessing Paris in winter.... a colorful portrait of a person we'd love to have met.....and won't forget! You'll love this book, absolutely. (Find "Lilian's Last Dance" on Amazon eBooks.) Bill Jones painted this cowboy watercolor on a research trip to Hawaii. Terrific trio: Cortez Johnson, Jacque Wilke, DeLeon Dallas are terrific in San Diego Rep's "Honky," up next at: www.whereiscookie COMING SOON:   Having fun revisiting the locales we researched for "Lilian's Last Dance."  Soon, we hit Hawaii to bone up on the Hawaiian paniolo, or cowboy, who figures in the plot of "Lilian..." in the form of a wahine paniolo, yes, a female, a cowgirl in love with Pancho Villa.  But first, we critique the raucous "Honky," just opened at San Diego Repertory Theatre.  It's a deftly written, well acted play about racism, consumerism, marketing hype and a drug that could cure bigotry!  Remember: carpe diem, so explore, learn and live and visit us Wednesdays and weekends at:   www.whereiscookie.com

THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL posting is one of several recently published newspaper articles.  It ran in the hometown paper of novelist Christene Meyers, a Montana native launching an international book tour in Australia and New Zealand.  Meyers grew up in Montana, where the novel is partly set. It is garnering praise on Amazon as an eBook. "LILIAN'S LAST DANCE" features a love triangle, and a troupe of actors in New York, Europe and Los Angeles during the transition from silent movies to talkies.  Meyers began writing as a 17-year old student at Rocky Mountain College and worked as editor, arts review and travel writer for many years. She is also a poet, musician and performer, pursuing an advanced degree in poetry and play writing at Sarah Lawrence College. WHERE IS COOKIE resumes its regular Wednesday and weekend postings Dec. 3, with a look at San Diego's innovative Cygnet Theatre and its holiday fare.   CLICK HERE TO BUY Lilian's Last Dance

Two new fires erupted as crews remove tons of debris from Eaton and Pacific Palisades fire areas, fearing mudslides and more damage as thousands of tons of debris are swept away in forecast rains. Red Flag warnings increased even into northern and central California. --FIRE PHOTOS COURTESY AP, Getty Images, MSN NEW FIRES, INCREASING WINDS, MORE EVACUATIONS: FIRE CONTAINMENT INCHES ALONG, TONS OF DEBRIS CLEARED, CALIFORNIA BRACES FOR RAIN, MUDSLIDES   The American Red Cross and Project HOPE are helping thousands of evacuees, first responders and fire crews. To help with food, hygiene, shelter, counseling: www.redcross.org ; www.projecthope.org Sunset Boulevard and the Pantages Theatre, built in 1930 as a Vaudeville house, film and performance venue.  For many years it hosted the Academy Awards. It holds a special place in the hearts of writer Christene Meyers, and her photographer husband, Bruce Keller, whose mother Jean, an art major, left University of Minnesota in 1944 to rent a flat at Hollywood and Vine & design window displays.  Meyers and Keller visit Los Angeles often for theater, movies &"Jeopardy" tapings.    HISTORY AS FIRES SWEEP OVER  AN OLD FRIEND WHO WILL RISE FROM ASHES As a movie reviewer at The Billings Gazette, the writer spent   weekends in Los Angeles, where she interviewed hundreds of film stars, directors, producers, screen writers and designers and covered the Oscars.  The eerie sight of burned trees with downtown L.A. in the background  greets homeowners and emergency crews in Altadena, Pacific Palisades and other areas. L.A. now meets the threat of mudslides and more damage with rains forecast. As of Wednesday, more than 12,000 structures are destroyed, 27 are dead, more missing, and 60 square miles are burned.                                                               --Photo Courtesy Getty Images Aftermath of the Pacific Palisades fire. "The "destruction is unbelievable," a friend said today. Jan 23 fire update: Two new fires erupted north of Los Angeles. Over 100,000 people now have received evacuation orders with another 15,000 receiving evacuation warnings. Volunteers and fire crew are following an emergency order issued yesterday to clear debris ahead of forecast rains. Although rain is badly needed, it creates another risk: Mudslides, erosion  and floods, caused by rubble left by the fires. Hughes fire is at 14 percent containment. Sepulveda fire is nearly extinguished. Containment of the older fires is at 80 -90 per cent for Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires. The Palisades fire invaded Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Topanga and Mandeville canyons. Firefighters inched further as the Eaton fire caused destruction in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre — and is at 89% containment, according to Cal Fire. Damage is expected to surpass $250 billion, which would make these fires the costliest in U.S. history. We grieve devastating loss with dear friends whose childhood homes have been leveled, animals lost, personal memorabilia gone. Getty Center above Brentwood will reopen Jan. 28. But the priceless Getty Villa --while saved -- is closed indefinitely because of hazardous roads and leveled surroundings in the ghost town of Pacific Palisades.  Prolonged drought and renewed Santa Ana winds created possibly the worst wildfires in the country's history. Please keep imperiled Los Angeles in your thoughts and prayers and continue to check here and on Facebook daily. We offer ways people can help: www.redcross.org ; www.projecthope.org STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER                                                                                                       and newspaper archives  I DIDN'T REALIZE  how much Los Angeles means to me until the fires. Now I understand.   Debbie Reynolds and daughter Carrie Fisher, interviewed at a Hollywood awards ceremony. A new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at   Hollywood and Vine, awaits its a new gold name.   IN YEARS of globe trotting, I've spent more time visiting Los Angeles than any other place in the world, with New York, London and Barcelona the runners up. Makeup wizard and special effcts artist Andy Schoneberg and his partner and fellow artist Nicole Michaud, with Cookie and Keller and Schoneberg's Humphrey Bogart creation. He has lived in Los Angeles for the past 40 years.     ALL TOGETHER  I've logged about 7 years in the city -- in visits ranging from 3 days to 2 and 3 weeks. Trips to Disneyland as a young person, a honeymoon trip with late husband Bruce Meyers, five weeks with late husband Bill Jones researching our historical novel partly set in Los Angeles, and at least 10 visits a year during my 25-plus years as a movie critic. I covered the Oscars in the day when newspapers were king and the studios invited select film reviewers for world premiers and interviews. I've strolled the Walk of Keller's parents were married in Los Angeles in post-WWII. Meet William and Jean Keller. Fame many times, playing tourist, often catching sight of a star. Sometimes they remembered me -- Christopher Reeve and Bill Murray did. I've weaseled my way into Hollywood piano bars to play when the paid pianists took a break. I've sunbathed by the rooftop pool at the historic Hoxton Hotel, which opened in 1924 with star studded fun.  Looking like a mirage, Echo Mountain House was a favorite escape for sunshine and fruit groves. The Pasadena area was called "America's Italy."    MOST PEOPLE don't realize that there was a Los Angeles long before the metropolis we know today sprang from the desert.  L.A. was founded in 1781 by Spanish colonists and Pasadena has long been a popular winter destination for wealthy folks. The gorgeous chaparral and wildflower terrain that has been scorched in at least 8 wildfires reminded J. Paul Getty of his beloved First week's fire coverage, click here Italy. So much so that he built a lavish museum, Getty Villa, a replica of a luxurious compound destroyed by Vesuvius. There, in a building now closed but safe, his $10 billion collection awaits reopening probably months down the road.  Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers at the Ahmanson Theatre, L.A. We photographed Getty Villa just before it closed indefinitely. It is J. Paul Getty's multi-billion- dollar museum, a showcase for his collection.  The landscape that attracted the rich for a century is now a charred graveyard. As it burns, its ashes cover the past of a city of remarkable incarnations. ON ONE  sunny afternoon 35 years ago, Bill Jones and I found the remains of Echo Mountain House, built in 1894.  The elegant Swiss inspired chalet was an astronomical observatory and hide-away for Gilded Age partiers.  They dressed to the nines for elegant dinner-dance parties and arrived by cable railway.  When the regular pianist takes a break, Cookie often charms herself into a piano bar to play a few sets, here at the Omni Lounge in L.A. IN NEARBY HOLLYWOOD,   I interviewed Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Sally Field, Christopher Reeve, Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep, Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli, Fred Astaire and many others. We stayed in posh hotels:  Chateau Marmont, The Beverly Hills and Beverly Wilshire, the stately Roosevelt, where Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks hung out.   Walt Disney Concert Hall hosts world class  musicians and conductors and is a regular player  in Cookie's world of theater and lively arts. Bruce Keller and his mom, Jean  Keller, sailed the harbors of Long Beach, Oceanside, etc. WITH BRUCE  Keller (aka "Bruce the Second,") I spend weekends 90 miles north of our San Diego home in L.A.  It is beloved by Keller because his mother came to the city as a young college arts student on spring break from University of Minnesota.  She never left.  For the past 18 years, we've watched fabulous opera and thrilled to Gustavo Dudamel's baton conducting the L.A. philharmonic at beautiful Walt Disney Concert Hall. We see plays at the Ahmanson, Mark Taper and Kirk Douglas theaters. We've been to a half-dozen "Jeopardy" tapings and spent time with the late Alex Trebek. We visit many friends, including Wyoming born Andy Schoenberg, a well known makeup artist and old pal, and Keller's oldest friend, Bob Hulbert. He and his wife Sue host us for musical gatherings where we sing show tunes and celebrate a long friendship. I'm the only "non-native" as Bruce, Bob and Sue are all southern Californians with long ties to Los Angeles. Keller took this night photo of the Pantages on our most recent visit. READING OF the fires is like hearing an old friend has a terminal illness. I pray to my agnostic gods that this city beloved by me, Keller and millions of others will rebound quickly, rising from the ashes to reinvent itself once again. As it does -- and as soon as possible -- we'll be back. For the show must go on. ************************************************************************************************************   Marielle Young as Luna and Jin Park as Jane forge a friendship in their mutual loneliness. BEST BET : If you love serious theater, with welcome comic relief, head for North Coast Repertory Theatre for "The Heart Sellers." It's a play for play goers, with a perfect theatrical triumvirate. New Yorker Kat Yen's deft direction thoughtfully develops Lloyd Suh's clever script, delivered by two splendid actors with delightful chemistry. The theme is integration-- two wives uprooted from their cultures to support their husbands' education and careers in an unnamed U.S. city. Playwright Suh created two endearing characters in this subtle and sometimes raucous  production. They have just met and are learning to trust one another. Marielle Young plays Luna, a gregarious Filipina woman, endowing her character with brashness and tender enthusiasm. Playing her reluctant Korean new friend Jane is Jin Park who gives her character just the right balance of reserve and delight.  Through two capable actors, a touching friendship develops. When Luna sings "Top of the World," that sweet Carpenters' song, we take  an emotional ride with her. It's a play of satisfying depth and subtlety with welcome moments of slapstick and lightness. It takes great talent to pull off a two- person show which never fails to engage and sustain us.  The collaboration of writer, director and actors opens the year at the Rep with a five-star show on an eye-catching set. northcoastrep.org  or call for tickets, call 858-481-1055 ***********************************************************************************  Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers on the trail of dolphins and whales, keeping safe distance from the fires.  Find some fire relief next week in southern California. ON TAP: Concerned about the tragic fires, worried about the safety of our many friends in Los Angeles and the havoc and loss of the terrible fires, we are thankful for progress on containment, and for our safety in San Diego. Now, we travel north of the city to romp with the whales. They're migrating from the north to the warm waters of the Baja and we're on their trail.  Meanwhile, keep the people and critters of Los Angeles in your hearts and minds, remembering to explore, learn, live and be kind, generous and helpful. Catch us weekly for stories on performance, nature, travel and -- sometimes -- breaking news, good or bad: www.whereiscookie.com

Savannah food tour mixes history, tastings, parks, monuments and more A happy, well fed group of travelers and foodies finish a fun Savannah tasting tour, with guide Brenden Davis giving the enthusiastic group a "thumbs up" send-off. SAVANNAH FOOD TOUR OFFERS DELECTABLE TASTINGS, LIVELY COMMENTARY, HISTORY, FACTS, AND WALKING TO WORK IT OFF Food tour participants sweetened their day with tastings of delicious honeys at Capital Bee Company in Savannah . STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER WE'RE FOOD tour junkies. We love tasting new dishes, dining in small, interesting cafes and restaurants, visiting places where the locals hang out.  Christene digs into a double-fried pork chop with a tangy sauce. WHEREVER WE GO  in the world, we try to work a food tour into our visit. We've sampled tapas in Barcelona, crab cakes and key lime pie in Fort Lauderdale and Key West, sushi in Kyoto and fish and chips in London. All on food and walking tours. Zunzi's chicken sandwich has a double sauce with a four-letter-word that locals love to order . Our latest culinary adventure was in Savannah, where tastings ranged from a tasty chicken sandwich with two sauces at Zunzi's, to a satisfying double-fried pork chop, honey straight from the hive, a southern style taco with peach salsa, the best grits and shrimp we've sampled, and irresistible ice cream.  Delectable shrimp and grits, served in a creamy sauce at 22 Square, named after the square it is near, and a Savannah favorite.      A GOOD GUIDE makes a food tour work.  Sure, the food is important.  But having a lively, knowledgeable guide is the key to a successful, enjoyable tour where participants learn something about the city as well as its culinary offerings. Food served with fun and facts! We hit the food tour jackpot with our excellent guide, Brenden Davis.  His genial manner, knowledge of Savannah's finest eats, and a keen sense of humor kept us amused while we tasted and strolled this historic and beautifully designed city.  Davis has a background in radio and TV and is an experienced actor as well.   Zunzi's chicken sandwich comes with 2 sauces.Its moniker is  four-letter word starting with "s" because when a customer asked if he could have two sauces, the waiter said "s*** yeah."  FOOD, FUN, FACTS HIS TASTE  Experience is all its title implies. The "experience" began at Zunzi's, with Davis introducing himself and giving each of us a turn at introduction. Then a sketch of his own life and background -- he's from Detroit and broke with family tradition to eschew a law or medical degree in favor of  radio, improv and comedy. Before we munched a delicious chicken sandwich, he gave us an overview of central Savannah and its art, architecture and history. Then we strolled to the other five stops, continuing our delightful culinary extravaganza. Besides the leisurely look around the downtown, the tour included a half-dozen of Savannah's most interesting eateries. Savannah Taste Experience is a perfect way to enjoy the city's finest and most fun fare, and learn something about the town. BEFORE EACH stop, Davis offered casual commentary.  Fancy Parker's Urban Gourmet, he explained, is famous for its made-from-scratch Southern-inspired food.  It's an expansive, inviting space where locals and visitors come for addictive double-fried pork chops and other specialties for breakfast, lunch, dinner or late-night snacks. It's not all fried options; add beautiful salads, "she crab" and more. The place was originally an 1899 gas station.  Then on to Capital Bee Company, which rose to local fame with its attractive array of honeys -- more than 30 -- all pollinated by Georgia bees on flowers ranging from the rare to the abundant. Tacos southern style are a Savannah favorite, Davis explained. The state's famous Georgia peach is the main ingredient in a spicy salsa gracing our tasty tacos at Java Burrito Company. 22 SQUARE offered the best grits we've tasted -- with a creamy butter and cream sauce and perfectly cooked shrimp. We came back the next day for dinner. A dish of Leopold's Ice cream ended our gastronomic romp at the Savannah Taste Experience Marketplace/ Brenden Davis offers commentary, humor, history and fun food facts on a lively tour. The company offers several other tours besides the one we enjoyed. Each focuses on a different aspect of southern life, particularly life in Savannah. The tours include Southern Fried, First Squares, Port City and Walktails and Barbites (an inviting happy hour tour.) The enterprise also has a fun book, "Savannah Food:  A Delicious History," available on Amazon  A lovely complement to the food tastings is a chance to learn something about the history of charming Savannah.     The tours are reasonably priced because the tastings make for a fine meal. The groups are kept small -- usually no more than 10 or 12.   Prices range from $52 to $79, a bargain. We booked on line, or you can call: 912 221-4439 www.savannahtasteexperience.com info@SavannahTasteExperience.com     Savannah's Mercer Williams House is eye catching and a much loved landmark. NEXT UP:  A city of grace and history, Savannah has much to recommend it, from lively theater and   restaurants to a world class contemporary art museum and an abundance of homes with   fascinating pasts.  There's a terrific trolley,  ghost tours and   harbor cruises.   Remember to explore, learn and live and catch us weekly for a fun, fresh look at the arts, nature, travel, family and more.

Dreams inspire trip, tattoos; roadies set off with a poem      POEM by CHRISTENE MEYERS  PHOTOS by BRUCE KELLER     This week, twin dreams came down to us with travel forecasts bold.      Our vision puts us on the road (We're doing what we're told.)      Midlife crisis?  Call us nuts.      For sticks and stones don't phase us.      We're grabbing gusto, bucket listing,      singing, playing, praise us!     We've bought twin Harleys, new tattoos      so on the road we're speeding.      Cookie's hair is nice and big      (We don't plan too much reading.)      By trains, boats, planes we'll navigate      We'll waken when it pleases.      We'll order well from room service,      take Cs to stave off sneezes.      From San Diego, up the coast,      Montana, 'round the planet      we'll feast on mangoes, lambchops, jam      perhaps a pomegranate.     Kel's fishing pole and Cookie's sax      will add to our diversions.    We're doing all the things we want,    please spare us vexed aspersions.      We've said so-long to work-aday    with all its cares and worry.    We're going where the sun is bright      and do not plan to hurry.      Our Yorkie kids are all packed up.      With kibbles, toys and sweaters.      We've tossed their leashes in a bag      so they, too, have no fetters.      Our gigs are multiple and fun,      some big fish in our calling.      Some bands, some dancing, gambling, too. Some wagons off we're falling.      We'll grab some shows: jazz, classics, blues, St.-Martin-in-the-Fields?      Predictable?  That's just not us.      We're kicking up our heels!       Sexy Marlon Brando      looked so handsome in his shirts.      But so does Keller -- check it out --      And he can sleep in yurts.     Paris beckons, London woos.      We've booked two top Ritz Carltons      In case you're wondering "what the hell?"      Beware of springtime charlatans.    So Carpe diem, have some fun.      Get out there. Shake that bed.      Come travel armchair or for real.      For soon we'll all be dead.      Next blog up: Europe through the eyes of our spirited travelers.     Next Wednesday, our roadies take us to Portugal, Italy, France and the Canary Islands, with a nod to fountains, harbors and house wine! Then Saturday next, a treasure trove of orchids in La Jolla Shores hotel basement.  Meet the magicians behind the blooms. We post on Wednesdays and Saturdays at: whereiscookie.com

November's Guy Fawkes Day celebrates a plot's failure with bonfire, fireworks, merriment STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER & CM "The Carpe Diem Kids" Guy Fawkes Day offered a dream come true opportunity for Bruce Keller, who lit the bonfire in Yorkshire, UK. Guy Fawkes Day celebrates the failure of a 1605 plot to overthrow the King and blow up Parliament. It has largely lost its political connotations and is now a day of social gatherings, a meal, fireworks and, of course, a bonfire. MOST AMERICANS don't know much about Guy Fawkes or the day that honors his failed plot centuries ago to overthrow government. But it's a big deal in England, and we were in Yorkshire for last year's merry celebration. Guy Fawkes Night -- also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night -- is an annual commemoration observed on Nov. 5, primarily in Great Britain. It celebrates the failure of a 1605 plot by zealous Catholics to blow up Parliament and assassinate King James I who they believed was persecuting their people. Bruce Keller lights the flame to burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes, whose 1605 plot failed. IN YORKSHIRE, the holiday has a tinge of irony because that's where the rebel who gave the event its name was born. My husband, photographer Bruce Keller, was fascinated by the party preparation. Our host, Sue Speight, made sugary sweets and tasty chili. But what intrigued Keller most was the fire. Like many lads, he was a childhood pyromaniac, who accidentally ignited his back yard. Hearing that the celebration involved a bonfire, he was thrilled. He was invited to set the blaze of piles of trash, paper and wood scraps contributed by neighbors and topped with a straw-filled effigy of poor Guy Fawkes. Friends and neighbors gather for fireworks, sparklers, supper, sweets and beverages in the Speight barn. The finale: burning of Guy Fawkes. IN ITS EARLY days, the event was designed to reinforce anti-Catholic sentiment and the power of the Protestant state. Effigies of Guy Fawkes and the Pope were traditionally burnt accompanied by anti-Catholic sermons in Church. Today, that's gone and the festival has largely lost its religious and political connotations . We enjoyed plot toffee, new to us, a brittle and savory rich dark toffee, broken into pieces and traditionally served only on "Bonfire Night." Our host, Sue Speight said, "It's a chance to gather, to bring together neighbors and generations, have a nice meal and a bit of fun. We had Sue's delicious chili, but sometimes the celebration includes hot pork pies and those famous mushy peas. For dessert, we enjoyed Sue's parkin, a succulent ginger and syrup cake. We also had her excellent plot toffee, a brittle candy broken into pieces and served only on Bonfire Night. Bonfire Night host Sue Speight, right, with guests Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers. IN LONDON and other UK cities, public events are held in major parks like Alexandra Palace and Battersea Park. And while the focus is now on community celebrations with food and fireworks, villages also host smaller, local events to share the history of the plot to blow up Parliament and assassinate the king. This failed plot sparked the tradition, which Parliament established in 1506 as a day of public thanksgiving. Guy Fawkes was a devout Catholic, whose plot didn't produce his desired effect, but did spark a centuries old holiday with sweets and bonfires. ******************************** Lisbon's bustling Mercado is a colorful place to visit, with a bounty of fresh produce, here peppers. UP NEXT : Lisbon's allure. One of the world's great seaports, this old, intriguing city has a wealth of wonders to explore, from markets to museums and more. We take you there, in a tuk-tuk, that fun and leisurely way to get to know Portugal's capital city.