WARNING: SUPER SIZED BLOG ENTRY AHEAD

It was a great and busy week of travel and talking as the first real week of the college tour was kick started into high gear. Five schools in five cities in five days. It was a week of sell-out crowds and packed houses across the board as I started speaking to students, parents, locals and faculty about the dangers of a fast food diet and the need for change. Each of the campuses I spoke on had multiple fast food restaurants right on campus that kids can use their meal plan to buy less than healthy fare. This way of eating is a typical college rut that anyone in the post fast food creation generation can relate to – countless nights at USC I remember walking through the 24 hour drive thru at the Taco Hell on Figueroa right next to campus. And countless mornings I remember my bowels not liking me too much for it.

Monday started off with a train ride to Washington, DC (I love the Acela – by far the best way to travel to Philly & DC) to meet with the folks at Keppler and Associates who are booking all the dates this fall. They are really behind the message and goal I have for the film, which is to get it into the hands of as many parents and teachers and kids as possible. From there, it was a short car ride to Maryland for that night’s event at the University of Maryland. It was a packed house for the movie and the Q&A afterwards, more than 800 students attended the evening’s discussion.

HATE TO DO IT BUT … as a native of WV I have to point out that the Mountaineers won on Saturday, beating the Terps for the first time in five encounters, 19-16. Go Mountaineers!

Tuesday, I caught an early morning flight to Chicago where I was met by a French film crew. They did an interview with me in the car while we rode to Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL. They spent the afternoon with me as I had conference calls discussing the FX series, planned for that evening’s event and grabbed some lunch at the restaurant across the street from the Holiday Inn Express. In the same building as that night’s event at NIU was a McDonald’s. Right on campus, in the same building. Lots of students went there for their own “Last Supper” prior to coming to the screening. The film has a way of making people not want to eat there anymore for some reason.

TOTAL ATTENDANCE: More than 1000.

MOST IRONIC SCENE FROM THE DAY: At my hotel, Weight Watchers had their weekly meetings today, and all day long people made their way in and out of the Holiday Inn to buy that weeks ration of boxed, processed food.

On Wednesday, I was on the road at 9 AM, back to Chicago O’Hare for a flight to Nashville, TN – there I was met by folks from Western Kentucky University. It was a 90 minute car ride to Bowling Green through the bluegrass state. It was beautiful and reminded me of growing up in West Virginia. I grabbed a quick workout at the Holiday Inn gym before heading to dinner with the Student Activities Board and that evening’s screening and lecture. (That’s right, this Holiday Inn had a gym! It was shmancy, fancy – had a giant waterfall and everything. Always a tell-tale sign of classy.)

TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 900

Thursday – I was back on the road to Nashville to grab an 11 AM flight to Atlanta, connecting on to Tulsa, OK. It was hot there. Bordering on “low” from a hairdryer hot. I opted not to go for a run outside and went to the gym downstairs instead before spending a couple of hours working on my book.

REALIZATION FROM THE ROAD: I see why people who write books stop everything else and focus solely on their writing, because having to balance travel, with speaking, with promotion, with production of a TV series is tough, manageable, but tough none the less.

The screening, part of the Tulsa University’s Hurricane Thursdays was another great success. Total attendance: 600

BEST PART OF THE DAY: A really cute girl gets on my plane to Tulsa carrying her son. He’s adorable and she is great with him, talking about all the things on the plane and the trip they’re about to take. Then, on walks daddy, who is none other than the “Mmmm Bop” middle Hanson brother. The whole Hanson clan climbed on as well – I’m guessing they were to perform somewhere in Tulsa that night since they were lugging guitars. For the rest of the night, I couldn’t get that damn song out of my head!

Friday morning, it was a 90 minute car ride to Oklahoma City for that nights event at Oklahoma University. I spent the entire time catching up on phone calls and doing interviews. (My Sprint plan of 5000 minutes a month is not enough these days. Scary.)

I checked in to the fabulous Courtyard Marriot near the hotel and spent the afternoon fielding more phone calls and dealing with important issues concerning the upcoming release of the DVD. Street date is Sept. 28, so we’re planning a kick-off party on the 27th, in store signings on the 28th, plus mad press. So, there’s a lot to take care of.

The crew from OU CAC (campus activities) picked me up and took me to dinner at a great local haunt where I had some onion rings and a local burger before the night’s event. It was an OK burger, but definitely not at the top of my list by any standards.

That night’s event was the best yet – the energy, the response, everything. More than 600 students were in attendance in the tiny little auditorium.

After this week, I truly believe this tour can make a difference.

NOTE: We didn’t hit any high schools or junior highs because the “family friendly” version of the film is just now completed and being copied. We should be able to start getting them out for the next leg of the tour in two weeks.

Saturday – the car that was supposed to pick me up never showed up and luckily the driver for the hotel shuttle just started work when I needed to leave at 6 AM. At the airport, my string of good luck continued with the airport having no record of my flight. I had cancelled all my credit card numbers the previous week for new ones thinking I wouldn’t need them this week, now here I am at the airport, my flight leaving in 30 minutes, me with $300 bucks in my pocket and being told I’ll have to buy a full fare one-way ticket if I want to get home. Ticket price: $850.

After I explain my situation to the guy behind the counter, he bends the rules and says I can use my girlfriend’s credit card. I call Alex and wake her up, she was very excited about that, and she lines it all up. Because I just bought my ticket, I get profiled for a search. Staring at my watch as they unload everything from my bags, I watch the minutes tick by … I’m not gonna make this flight.

I run down the hallway, making it there just before they close the door. I’m the last man on the plane sitting in the very last seat on the plane next to a guy who is as big as Shaq in a coach seat. Can it get any better?

My plane connects in Cincinnati at 10 am and I’m told my 11 AM flight to NY is delayed. If I want, I can get on the 9 AM flight which has been filled with passangers and sitting on the tarmac for the past hour and half, stuck in a “wait and see” pattern because of the tail end havoc being caused by Hurricane Ivan in New York. Why not, I say. This plane is going to get to leave first anyway.

I luck out and get the middle seat in the next to last row of the plane next to a guy as big as John Goodman who has just returned with a large coke, fry and cheeseburger from a stand inside. He proceeds to chomp and chew next to me, the greasy smell and shine on his fingers being wiped on his shirt after every bite. So, in answer to my earlier question, yes, it can get better.

I sit on the tarmac with my new greasy amigo for over an hour before we’re cleared for take-off. Once in the air, we’re in a holding pattern around La Guardia for another hour, not touching down until well after 1 PM. What should’ve taken four hours max to get home has now taken more than seven.

Now I have just enough time to get home, unpack my dirty clothes, pack clean clothes, kiss my girlfriend and meet the 3:30 PM car that’s going to take us to JFK for our 6 PM flight to Madrid.

Come December, I’ll be more than ready for that vacation.