Entry date: August 18, 2022
"Are you eating alone because you want to be alone or do you want some company?"
I met Rita Golden Gelman today, the author of a New York best seller, Tales of a Female Nomad - Living at Large in the World." She had a sparkle in her eye and a smile across her face as I sat across from her. She was telling me how she met people, and this was one way she liked to do so. Walk up to a random person in a restaurant and offer them someone to talk to. I thought it was a clever and sweet idea. I definitely will try it out in the dining halls at college when I go back.
Skimming the table of contents of Rita's book, I could tell she was a seasoned traveler. Guatemala, Indonesia, and the Galapagos Islands (a place I've wanted to go to forever) stood out to me. She told me that she wrote about her experiences and her discoveries. When asking her why she wanted to be a writer, she said she wanted to write about travel. She felt that too many people are afraid to travel, and she wanted to show them the beauty of seeing the world. I admired Rita's adventurous and courageous disposition - she kept urging me to step out of my comfort zone, saying that we often look back at things we were once scared to do and find it silly that we felt that way. Do things that will make people go wow, she said. "I play with life."
Rita said she was done travelling but not done writing. When I asked her what she wanted to write about, she said "I am having problems with the world. Too many people hate other people." Hopefully, we will be seeing a novel from her about that. Additionally, Rita has published around 60-70 children's books, including More Spaghetti, I say!. She plans to write another one about "animal feet" - how different animals from snakes to centipedes get from one place to another. Rita suggested I write a book one day, possibly about octopuses.
It was a pleasure to meet Rita. I look forward to reading her new books!
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