I have spent three days recording the audio book of Find the Good for HighBridge Audio Books at Betsy Simms’ Studio A here in Juneau at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. (Once I got the part to basically play myself, I asked if we could do the recording somewhere closer than L.A. or N.Y., and after consulting with Betsy, they agreed it could be done in Juneau.) We recorded Tuesday night when I got off the ferry from 6-9 or so, then Wednesday morning, took a break and did a little more in the afternoon, and then I came back Thursday morning to finish up. It’s a short book, about 175 pages. (It so helped that Betsy really liked it! That made it much easier to read to her. Funny how that works, isn’t? A little love changes the whole tone of the reading and will no doubt make it much better.)
Here’s what my voice looks like:
And here is Betsy and the foam lined booth I read in while she watched the dials.
I had hoped to fly home afterward, as it was nice and sunny- but the wind was blowing 100 mph at the Eldred Rock lighthouse between Juneau and Haines, so that was that. Today’s ferry was canceled due to even stronger winds (it spiked at 110, so far) and colder temperatures. As Chip said on the phone this morning, anywhere else this would make the news. Yesterday in downtown Juneau and Douglas, where Eliza lives, there were hurricane force winds. At JJ’s school a 4th grader broke a finger in a wind slammed door and a draft caught the ceiling tiles and blew them around.
This morning I called the airport to see if there was any chance of a plane. ( I’m not crazy, since here at JJ and Bryan’s place where I can see the airport it is fairly pleasant. Not too windy at all. Yesterday when they were battened down at the capital just a few miles away, Eliza and I and her dog and baby James walked along Twin Lakes in the sunshine, on a bare bike path, while watching skaters and hockey players. It was wonderful.)
Anyway, this morning, the Wings of Alaska pilot said it was too windy at the airport to take planes out of hangers, and that the Alaska Airlines jets had been canceled. He was very nice and very chatty– and JJ who overheard the conversation said I should ask him if he wanted to drill me on my lines for the play. “You could go out there and hang out with him for while as he waits for the weather to change.” Funny. I suppose she is tiring of my Irish accent?
A little snow is forecast for today, and a lot for Sunday. But the ferry should be sailing, as the winds are supposed to die down by then, and snow never stopped a ferry. (I hope I didn’t just jinx myself by saying that.) Plus, it is pretty nice to be “stuck” in Juneau with my daughters and baby James for the weekend.
