Harriet Beamer lost a bet to her daughter-in-law Prudence
and now she is selling her house in Pennsylvania and moving
to Grass Valley, California to live with her son Henry and
Prudence. Her little bets are always getting her in trouble.
How do you leave a place you have lived all your life and
move somewhere else?
Harriet has never been too far away from suburban
Philadelphia. She's really never seen much of this country.
Her husband Max only took her to the Jersey shores on
vacation every year, and Max has been dead for fifteen
years. She's not happy about leaving her home, her church
and her friends, so she decides to do the traveling her way.
She wants to prove there is more to Harriet Beamer than
cookies and bingo.
Harriet crates up her dog, Humphrey, packs up her collection
of three thousand plus salt and pepper shakers and ships
them to Henry. She decides to travel across the United
States by public transportation. She starts off by city bus
and makes it to the other side of town where she learns that
local buses don't go cross-country. She has no special plan,
just her new droid cell phone with a GPS. Harriet continues
her journey by train, limousine, helicopter and motorcycle
sidecar. Her adventures are hilarious and some of the people
she meets along the way are one-of-a kind. Did you know
there is a Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg,
Tennessee?
Harriet Beamer has always done what was expected, always
kept a schedule, and she feels she is living in a rut. She
thinks her life has no purpose, but her travels reveal to
her that God's hand is guiding her to help people along the
way. Joyce Magnin's story is a crazy adventure you will not
want to miss, but an inspirational one as well. Magnin's
characters are always quirky and Harriet is no exception.
HARRIET BEAMER TAKES THE BUS is a delightful read.
Aging and recent widow Harriet Beamer insists she's getting
along fine with her dog Humphrey in Philadelphia ... until
she falls for the fourth time, injuring her ankle, and
causing her son and daughter-in-law to cry foul. Insisting
Harriet move in with them in California, they make a bet
that her ankle is broken, and she foolishly promises to move
if they're right. Four x-rays later, Harriet's ankle---and
her heart---are broken. She packs up, ships her huge salt
and pepper collection to California, and prepares to move
away from the only life she knows. The only catch? She's
doing it her way. Just wait till her daughter-in-law hears
Harriet will travel cross country only by public
transportation and alternate means. What follows is a
hilarious, heartwarming journey by train, metro bus, ferry,
and motorcycle. Along the way, Harriet discovers that
although her family thinks it's time for her to be put out
to pasture---God has a different plan.
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