Michael Perry:
How you doing? I've come to the city to talk about the country. It's the last night of a long and rewarding book tour that's gone on for a couple of months and we're going to wrap it up tonight about 3.5 hours from my chicken coop right here in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.

Michael Perry:
Well, we are at A Room of One’s Own bookstore. In about 20 minutes I'm going to do a book reading in here. It ain't exactly rock and roll, but I like it.  

Michael Perry:
Hi. 

Woman:
Are you Michael?

Michael Perry:
Yeah.

Woman:
Hi, Mike.

Michael Perry:
Hi. Thanks for coming. That will help tonight.

You get to say thank you in person to people who read your books.

Woman:
I have a present for you.

Michael Perry:
Oh, thank you. I'm sure what it is. I spoke at a graduation and somebody brought me a photo from the graduation. It was my sister's college graduation. People do nice things for you on book tour. They bring you nice stuff.

This is the quiet before the storm. It's as close you get to backstage. You get to hang out in the back of funky bookstores, look at posters of books. This particular office is extra intriguing because if you look, the little cubicle divider is an old restroom door. I did events in Minnesota, Denver, Boulder, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Oregon. Then I flew to Detroit. I rented a car and started driving through Michigan and making a loop underneath the big lake back to home. And went down through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, St. Louis, back on home.

Woman:
I'm very happy and pleased to present to you Michael Perry. Thank you.

Michael Perry:
Sometime tonight after midnight, I will roll in the yard, and I will park the car and walk out and peek in the chicken coop and look at the little chicks, make sure they're okay. Shine my flashlight in the pig hutch, feed the pigs. Then I'll go in the house and go to sleep with my family.  

Michael Perry:
Well, thanks so much for coming tonight, but I want to start tonight with a story that takes me back home, and so I like to begin with it. Since the book has come out, I received a number of emails and letters from people saying...

Frederica Freyberg:
We have enjoyed Michael Perry's video essays on "Here & Now," but starting in October you will find his intriguing insights on "In Wisconsin” Thursday nights at 7 p.m. We appreciate his continued contributions to Wisconsin Public Television.