30. June 2010 by John Smelcer.

In true Easy Rider fashion, I took a motorcycle trip across America. I was going from New York to visit the Rosebud gang in Madison, Wisconsin. All-in-all, a 2,000 mile trip. While going through downtown Cleveland on I-86, one of the busiest interstates in the nation, my oil plug suddenly fell out, spilling three quarts of hot oil all over my rear tire. The bike went out of control, fish-tailing across all four lanes. I thought I was going to die. All I could do was to keep from flipping the bike and being run over by the rush of semis on my ass. I shot off the freeway and across the grass along the road before wrecking. I spent the next several hours tracking down a plug, oil, degreaser, and enough paper towels to clean the tire. If there’s any consolation, an old, retired Black man named Dwight, who lived a block away helped me, staying with me for hours, and driving me around looking for parts. He wouldn’t accept a dime. Sometimes people amaze me.

Here’s a picture of my motorcycle and a covered bridge in northern Ohio.

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2. June 2010 by John Smelcer.

Over spring break, I joined two friends and we drove down to Tupelo, Mississippi–the birth place of Elvis Presley–in the longest-motorhome-on-earth. What a trip! The house is really small. Such humble beginnings. The other photo is of me sitting in the booth where as a teenager Elvis sometimes sat at Johnny’s Diner.

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2. June 2010 by John Smelcer.

A publisher in The Netherlands has bought the rights to translate and publish The Trap later this year.

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2. June 2010 by John Smelcer.

In case you would like to order a book or two … I’ve posted an order form online at http://johnsmelcer.com/books.html. The best part of the old-fashioned way of ordering … I’ll autograph it before it is shipped!  

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2. June 2010 by John Smelcer.

On Sunday, May 23, I went into New York City to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. In 2009, the Dalai Lama provided a foreword to one of my Native American dictionaries and collaborated with me on a children’s picture book.

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