On Saturday, Jan. 21 from 2 to 3 p.m., Carroll Lutheran Village, in partnership with A Likely Story Bookstore and Carroll County Public Library, is hosting author, actor, playwright and former Westminster resident Ernest Thompson as he debuts and discusses his new and first novel “The Book of Maps”– a moving and hilarious novel about fatherhood. The event is free and open to the public but registration is required at ccpl.librarymarket.com/event/be-read-ernest-thompson before Jan. 20 at 2 p.m.
“The Book of Maps” focuses on Brendan Ball Tibbet’s valiant quest to have his ten-year-old son, Blynk, deem him loveable – even after delivering Blynk with heartbreaking news – over the course of a two-week trek driving across 16 states, from Los Angeles to New Hampshire, with a yard sale treasure map as their trusty travel guide. It’s a tale of adventure and redemption that captures the innocence of 20 years ago with timeless insights into the challenges of being a father—and what it means to be a decent, grown-up human being.
CLV’s Executive Director Pete Bolt stated, “We are fortunate to welcome Mr. Thompson back to Westminster as he debuts his first novel and provide this opportunity for the public and our residents to meet him. Our residents are really looking forward to the event; many of them are avid readers, often borrowing books from our library and CCPL, and some participating in our community’s book club.”
Thompson, probably best known for his Academy Award-winning movie “On Golden Pond,” lived in Westminster in the 1960s, moving from New Hampshire when his father was hired by Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College. Known then by his first name Richard or, as it says on his Varsity Letter jacket, Dick, Thompson was active in Westminster High School sports, graduating in 1967 tied for the most Varsity Letters awarded that year, seven. As a senior, he placed first in the county meet in both the mile and two-mile run; for years thereafter, the record he set in the latter remained unbroken. And his knees are still paying a price for it.
He’s never forgotten his Westminster roots. In the name of his father, Theron Barker Thompson, he started a scholarship available to Carroll County students interested in pursuing their own studies in the arts. Forty years ago, Thompson was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Western Maryland College, with a second certificate commemorating the recognition when the school was renamed McDaniel, which, by Thompson’s math, means two doctorates.
