Velma's Journals

So... Velma Graydon? If anyone's heard of the Wonder City, they've heard about Velma. I guess it's because she's the centerpiece of this little yarn we're trying to spin. It could also be that Courtney and I have included her in many of our polite conversations over the past three years. Since our Kickstarter debut she's found her niche as the librarian super sleuth on the fast track to solving New York City's biggest mystery.

One of the questions I field from people who wander in and out of our story: "Is she real or did you make her up?" My response: "What do you think?" In all honesty, she's as real to me as anyone else who meanders in and out of my daily life.

For awhile I was posting her personal journal entries from her time at Barnard in the thirties. Just as her story was getting juicy, I stopped because of overlapping time commitments. I realized that some people were really enjoying and, dare I say, invested in them.

I was having a conversation with a good friend yesterday who was invited to an organ recital at St. Ignatius Loyola church on the Upper East Side. I asked him if he was going (I thought he would be crazy not to) and he said: "I'd much rather stay home and watch women's figure skating. Besides, it sounds like something my aunt and Velma would show up to." There she is again, lodged in the lexicon of my Brooklyn enclave.

It's been almost two full years and people still talk about her journals. This includes Velma herself who, at last check-in, was trying to post them on her own. Her lack of computer savvy (she's 96) has blocked her success.

So I guess it's time to make the time for them. In the process of completing the first volume of the Wonder City with Courtney, I'll continue to post Velma's shenanigans from her college days when I can. For convenience sake I will import the old posts here and all new entries will then be posted to both blogs.

Enjoy!