My husband, Robert, went to Australia and New Zealand on a World Rehabilitation Fellowship for six weeks in April and May of 1989. Hard to believe that was 35 years ago! His destination made it difficult for me to stay at home in Rochester, New York while he traveled my homeland and received hospitality from my family and friends. But as much as I wanted to travel with him, being limited to two weeks of annual work leave made that impossible.
After visiting more than 50 assistive technology sites, Robert could boast that he had seen more of the two countries than me. His fellowship was a study of how high-technology equipment is selected and used by people with disabilities.
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The ingenuity of the rehabilitation professionals impressed him, but he was disappointed not to find a rehabilitation engineering job or business opportunity in either country. This made any talk about us relocating Down Under as wishful thinking.
Since it was three years since I had been home, and not wanting to miss out completely, I flew over for one week in New Zealand before joining Robert for his last week in Australia. In addition to family time, my sister Deborah had organized a television interview on The Bert Newton Show in Melbourne, Victoria to promote Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses, the first book in my dwarfism memoir trilogy. The book promotion continued in Baltimore, Maryland, at the annual Little People of America conference in July 1989. Two news articles were a definite boost to sales.
Abby Karp. “Little People’s Biggest Problem: Small Minds.”The Baltimore Sun. July 3, 1989.
Shirley Marlow. “In No Small Feat, She Finds True Stature as a Writer.” Los Angeles Times. July 4, 1989.
The trip Down Under caused me to cut my time at the conference back to the four-day holiday weekend. I returned to work and Robert continued his conference commitments. When he checked out of the hotel at the end of the week, he was surprised to see an expensive champagne brunch for four charged to our room. He knew he hadn’t so indulged and was almost sure I hadn’t, either. He questioned the bill, but paid it because I was not there to ask.
When Robert returned from the conference, he confirmed that I had not made this room charge and asked the hotel to remove it from his credit card. It took months for the hotel to concede that the signature on the charge to our room was fraudulent. Apparently, they had been busy investigating many such cases.
This post is excerpted from Chapter 10, Season of Travel in “PASS ME YOUR SHOES: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigates Life’s Detours with Love and Faith.”
Find information on Angela’s dwarfism memoir trilogy, blog, and media on her website at https://angelamuirvanetten.com.
One reply on “Combining Fellowship with Family and Book Promo”
What great adventures! Sounds amazing. You two are extraordinarily gifted. 💕