10 January 2003 DESTINATION UNEXPECTED: Short Stories edited by Donald R. Gallo, Candlewick Press, May 2003 (0-7636-1764-4)

"Nice pipes. Have you ever done radio?"

So asked the woman to whom our hostess had just introduced me. It was a New Year's Day party hosted by Allo's parents, Allo being a witty young man who we've known for years. (He played Bobby in our production of The Misfits last spring, and won't get to read this review for a while, since he is presently on a plane to Scotland to visit grandparents and hopefully meet Jo Rowling at an upcoming signing in Edinburgh.)

"Yeah," I replied..."I did some back in the 'Eighties."

Actually, the journey there--taking classes at the junior college to learn the craft from a retired station manager on how to put together sets of great tunes, write news, create imaginary commercials, record PSAs, somewhat overcome my fear of microphones, and get the opportunity to produce and record my own full cast and effects version of We're All Bozos on This Bus--was much more fun than the reality of the destination--sitting in that little room by myself once I was given the "opportunity" to intern at my favorite radio station of that time, KVRE-FM in Santa Rosa.

"Life is so strange when you don't know

How can you tell where you're going to

You can't be sure of any situation

Something could change and then you won't know,,,"

--Missing Persons

I have always loved radio. (And yes, I was a sucker for Paul Fleischman's SEEK.) I grew up back East listening to Dan Ingram, Cousin Brucie, Murray the K, Harry Harrison, Imus in the Morning, and Allison Steele The Nightbird. Later, after college, I discovered the late-Seventies musical eclecticism and political commentary of WPKN. These days I'm a Foghead--KFOG's "World Class" rock from San Francisco nicely complements the Pink and No Doubt CDs that Rosemary cranks up at home. Driving to school today, Dave Morey segued from Closer to Fine into Tempted and simply made my morning.

Putting together good short story anthologies seems to me to be quite analogous to putting together really nice sets of music. You choose the right authors for your audience, pick really tasty stories, and segue them in the perfect order to create a whole greater than the sum of the parts.

"Goin' down the road and feelin' bad..." --Traditional

When it comes to young adult literature, there is no literary DJ in the business whose "sets" are a more enjoyable experience than Don Gallo. Don's latest book, DESTINATION UNEXPECTED contains the kind of YA author roster for which his story collections have become known: Alex Flinn, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Kimberly Willis Holt, Ron Koertge, David Lubar, Richard Peck, Graham Salisbury, Joyce Sweeney, Will Weaver, and Ellen Wittlinger. Since nearly half the stories created during the history of the world contain journeys of some sort, these authors were not hampered by the book's theme in creating superb stories to contribute.

"Where will I be when I go back home?

Who will I see when I'm all alone?

And you tell me, What am I going to do?" -­David Crosby

There are journeys across town, across the country, and across the street. And there are those metaphorical journeys of young people getting to a new understanding.

"...This time I have really led myself astray..." --Soul Asylum

Some of the most powerful stories in the collection are Keep Smiling by Alex Flinn and Bad Blood by Will Weaver. In the first, two young people who are linked unknowingly by a tragic car crash in their community share a ride to a camp where they'll work with underprivileged kids. In the second, a young man from a family of thieves works a scam against an old woman with unexpected results. Then there's David Lubar's Bread on the Water wherein a kid--after he's kicked out of church one Sunday for screwing around with his buddy--learns a real-life lesson in how to "love thy neighbor."

"...I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on..."

--Jackson Browne

My own journey has taken more than enough unexpected turns since those nights of spinning out progressive rock at KVRE. I recently bumped into the formerly young guy who was the soul of the station back then. He's a trial lawyer these days. DESTINATION UNEXPECTED will give young readers cause to pause and contemplate their own roads taken...or not.

Richie Partington

http://richiespicks.com

BudNotBuddy@aol.com