In 2006 I made my one and only visit to the United States. It was only for four days, and it came about because I had worked on a book for an American librarian (we were co-authors) and she invited me over for a book signing at a session of the annual conference of the Special Libraries Association, being held that year in Baltimore.
The book signing never took place! The lady
in question had a blazing row with the organisers – on an entirely separate
matter – the night before the signing was due to happen. They told her that she
could forget all about the signing session, which meant my journey had been a
complete waste of time. Fortunately, she covered all the expenses so I did not
end up out of pocket.
However, that meant that I had a few days
in Baltimore all to myself, although I spent quite a lot of time attending
conference sessions. On my last day I visited the Baltimore Museum of Art,
which is where this photo was taken.
It is in the Sculpture Garden that is part
of the Museum. Whether it looks like this today I have no idea – they probably
change the exhibits from time to time anyway. At all events, it was a very
peaceful place to be at the end of a busy week. There was nobody else around,
the trees provided shade from the hot sun, and birds that I did not recognise
sang from the branches and hopped across the paths.
One day I might go back – who knows? On the
other hand, I have been reliably informed that there is quite a lot of the
United States that is also worth a visit!
© John Welford
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