PEKIN It didnt take much for actor/author Andrew McCarthy to get the crowd going at his presentation at the Pekin Public Library.
All he did was walk through the room Monday night and the nearly 150 people most of them women burst into applause.
I havent even done anything yet! he joked as he reached the front of the room. It can only be a disappointment from here on out.
But that couldnt have been further from the truth, as McCarthy entertained the crowd with stories about his lesser-known second career as a travel writer and editor at large for National Geographic Traveler.
He also talked about how he came to write his book, The Longest Way Home, which documents not only his travels but also his struggle to come to terms with his commitment fears during his long engagement to his wife.
But he knew the majority of his audience knew him best from his days as a star in movies Pretty in Pink, St. Elmos Fire, Mannequin and Weekend at Bernies.
Stop giggling. I know you all have your Pretty in Pink, posters, he said to the crowd.
Yes, I loved working with Molly Ringwald, we do stay in touch and the Brat Pack reunion has been postponed. ... That should pretty much take care of 95 percent of the Q and A, he quipped.
McCarthy talked about the parallel life hes had for the past 10 years working as what he called an accidental travel writer and said his book came about as he was leaving for another trip shortly after he and his then-fiancee decided to get serious about making their union permanent.
I was feeling sad to be leaving, but another part of me, equally as strong, was absolutely thrilled to be going and to be going alone. And I thought, what is wrong with me? Is reconciling those two things even possible?
I realized it was a pattern in my life and eventually a book grew out of that. Its kind of an internal journey about how we do that, have intimacy and hold onto ourselves in a very private, solitary place.
He explained the difference between traveling and vacationing, (vacationing is passive, while traveling is very active) and told the audience how his worldwide wanderings have affected his life.
There is a great line of poetry ... we see things only once as children, the rest is memory, he said. To which I would add, except in travel.
I think America is an amazing country, but I think America is also a very fearful place in a lot of ways, McCarthy said. I think 30 percent of Americans now have passports and only half of those have ever used them. I think if Americans traveled the world, the world would be a very different place because I think travel just obliterates fear. If we were responding to the world differently, the world would be responding to us differently.
So my goal is to change the world one trip at a time. The paradox of going far from home to feel at home has been the experience of my life.
Aside from acting and writing, McCarthy also is an accomplished director and drew recognition from the crowd when he mentioned the Netflix series he is currently working on, Orange is the New Black.
Dunlap resident Umiko Post arrived about two hours early to stake her spot in the line. She said while she knew McCarthy had written a book, she just read it recently when she learned about his upcoming appearance in Pekin.
Its really good, I did enjoy it, she said. I loved living vicariously through all of his travels. I cant imagine getting to do that and getting paid to do it. It just seems like hes more satisfied with his life now than he was as an actor.
