The Italian Hall Tragedy

Friday as I was getting ready to leave for the weekend (I had a book signing in Traverse City among other things) my phone rang at the office.  “It’s someone who claims to be Jay Leno,” my secretary told me.  I picked it up in my office and — IT WAS JAY LENO!  He called to thank me for the books I sent him.  Along with the copy of Death’s Door (the great holiday gift!) I sent him a copy of the book I wrote about the Chrysler Turbine car (see www.hickoryracing.com).  I figured he’d be into it because of his well-known love of cars, and I even mentioned him in the book (he helped a man I interviewed get an engine for his turbine car.)

The whole conversation took less than five minutes but it was very cool.  How many people can say that they’ve been called by Jay Leno?

Steve

And here is the link to see Jay Leno talking about the book: 

http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/headlines/H_3308/19.shtml#headline

Steve

I began receiving emails and phone calls this morning to let me know that “Death’s Door” was mentioned on the Tonight Show by Jay Leno.  Since I was not on the show (I would have known if I’d been a guest) all I could think of was the Headlines segment he does once in a while where he features things that are amusing from local papers — often because of typos, juxtapositions, or other things that seem out of context.  And, here it is:

Jay and his writers were amused by the ad from the Finnish American Reporter where we suggested the book would make a “great holiday gift!”  While the book does make a great gift (I had quite a few people tell me that they were buying them for Christmas) I can see why they found it an odd thing — a book named Death’s Door, about a mass murder, being promoted as a holiday gift.

I’m gift wrapping a copy of the book today and sending it to Jay.

Steve

http://finlaboramhistory.blogspot.com/