It should come as no great surprise to learn Tom Miller is off on another journey now, or that he has decided to tell us about it in the clean, rich, vibrant way he has reported on all his others.
What is surprising is the fact this latest journey seldom takes him beyond the front door of his midtown home here in 蜜柚直播. Miller, you see, has been struggling with Parkinson鈥檚 disease, and he has begun to talk about it in his
Miller鈥檚 memoir is much more than reflections about his condition. He recounts his friendship with Jerry Ruben and his time with the underground press in the 1960s. He recalls his gradual transition toward 鈥渟ea-level鈥 media in the late 鈥70s. He highlights his dozens of expeditions into South America, Mexico, Cuba and Spain.
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All that said, the narrative is uniquely personal because of Miller鈥檚 thoughts about his Parkinson鈥檚.
鈥淢y left leg has involuntary tremors,鈥 Miller writes in Chapter 1. 鈥淢uch of the time I can鈥檛 smell or taste. I sometimes freeze, unable to move my legs, and in the middle of the night, the opposite takes hold: restless leg syndrome. Sometimes I awaken with dry mouf. I nod out for about five seconds many times a day. My vocabulary is slipping. I鈥檓 a barrel of laughs.鈥
蜜柚直播 has been home to any number of celebrated authors, from Richard Russo and Barbara Kingsolver to Larry McMurtry and Andrew Greeley. Don鈥檛 forget Miller, who would be featured in the nonfiction wing of any 蜜柚直播 hall of fame.
enabled Miller to explore the cultures of South, Central and North America as he followed the making and marketing of a Panama hat, from the palm trees of Ecuador to a hat shop in California.
takes readers to Havana and introduces us to the sights, sounds and people of a place few Americans will ever see.
explores a 鈥渢hird country,鈥 the 25-mile strip that straddles America鈥檚 2,000-mile border with Mexico.
Miller鈥檚 12 books feature tight reporting and rich, vibrantly descriptive prose. It isn鈥檛 a coincidence. For a time, he was a weekly contributor to the New York Times, usually with stories from the border. Writing both in English and Spanish has helped Miller describe what he sees in literary 3D.
Six years ago, after an array of symptoms had been diagnosed as Parkinson鈥檚, Miller realized he was a travel writer who could no longer travel.
鈥淚t was a shock,鈥 he confessed last week. 鈥淚f you added up all the trips I鈥檇 made, and all the time I鈥檇 spent away, I had spent years of my life on the road. To know that was over was hard.鈥
It was personal, as well. He met his wife, Regla Albarran, in Havana. For her, Cuba is home. For Tom, who had been leading educational groups on tours of the island for 30 years, it is a home away from home.
鈥淓ventually I decided if I could not look forward I would start looking backward,鈥 he said, and Miller began pondering a memoir. 鈥淚 had plenty of time to reflect, obviously. When I took time to think about it, I could see how all those experiences brought me to where I am now.鈥
Miller moved to 蜜柚直播 sight unseen, without knowing a soul, in 1969. Like one of his favorite characters in literature, Don Quixote, Miller arrived full of adventure and brimming with youthful idealism 鈥 and totally unsure how to wield either one.
On the day he stepped off the plane, he hitched a ride to the University of 蜜柚直播 campus without so much as a place to stay. He found a small room behind the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house and soon began pitching stories to underground newspapers such as the Druid Free Press, a 蜜柚直播 product that flashed brightly but briefly in 1969 and 鈥70.
By the time his career began moving toward traditional media, Miller was one of the few reporters patrolling the border, intrigued by the push and pull felt by residents on both sides of the line. His familiarity with the people and places there gave him the toehold he needed to advance a writing career that now spans more than 50 years.
Miller began writing his memoir two years ago, bouncing ideas and early drafts off his friend James Reel here in 蜜柚直播 and his cousin in Colorado Springs.
Surprisingly, Miller鈥檚 agent could not find a publisher. It wasn鈥檛 a travel book, and an industry that had already scaled back its range of offerings grew even more selective after the pandemic.
Tired of receiving 鈥淒ear Tom鈥 letters, Miller decided to publish the book himself late last year. 鈥淲here Was I?鈥 was released through Amazon in March. It is also available at , and the .
Even though he takes dozens of pills a day, the effects of Parkinson鈥檚 make Miller鈥檚 life increasingly difficult. Luckily, his mind is working just fine. There is little doubt he will keep on writing as long as he can.
Miller even has a 13th book in mind.
鈥淒id you know lived in Douglas for a year and a half in the middle of his career?鈥 Miller asked. 鈥淗e wanted to get away, so he got in the car and drove west. His car broke down just east of Douglas and he settled in right there. It would be interesting to find out what he did while he was there, wouldn鈥檛 it?鈥
Footnotes
Until classes resume in August, the will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10-4 on Saturdays. The store will be closed on Sundays.
Miller was a presenting author at the first in 2009. He has appeared at four more in the years since.
In addition to being an author, Miller is something of a collector. He owns more than 80 recorded versions of 鈥淟a Bamba鈥 and has a bookshelf filled with various translations of by Miguel de Cervantes.
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