Come on out to the Kirkwood Public Library at 7 p.m. this coming Thursday, April 24. I’ll give a program and sign some books. The address is 140 E. Jefferson Ave. I’ll see you there.

John Carney will quiz me about my Gateway Arch book at 1:40 p.m. Thursday on KTRS, the Big 550. I’m not sure, but I think you can hear it online at ktrs.com.

Yes, today. Drop everything. Rush. Panic. Beat the crowds. Today is the only day in the history of the human race, the only day EVER that there will be a release/signing party for my book The Making of an Icon: The Dreamers, The Schemers, and the Hard Hats Who Built the Gateway Arch. Grab $21.50 for a book, plus some more for the best eating ever, and head to the Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt Avenue from 2 to 5 p.m. today. When your grandchildren ask “Where were you when Jim Merkel held the release/signing party for his book about the Gateway Arch?” you don’t want to tell them, “I was cutting the grass.”

Two days before the release/signing party for my book on the Gateway Arch, it’s time to talk about everything that will be going on. Besides the sale of The Making of an Icon: The Dreamers, the Schemers and the Hard Hats Who Built the Gateway Arch, you’ll have a first-time ever chance to have me autograph it. You can see a 16-foot-long exhibit of newspaper articles and pictures about the Arch and Arch grounds and a slide show with more than 100 pictures of the Arch and Arch grounds. Plus there will be readings, a chance to meet people involved with the writing of the book and some marvelous food. So come out to the Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt Ave., from 2-5 p.m. Saturday for a great time.

Four days before the release/signing party for The Making of an Icon: The Dreamers, The Schemers, and the Hard Hats Who Built the Gateway Arch, I’ll have my first radio interview. Mike Montgomery of Alton radio station WBGZ Radio, AM 1570, will quiz me on his “Matinee Madness” show at 3 p.m. today, April Fools Day. He’s a great interviewer and worked at the old Globe-Democrat in its heyday. If you can’t get the station, I believe you should be able to listen on line at http://www.wbgzradio.com. Either way, don’t forget to come to the party from 2-5 p.m. this Saturday (April 5) at the Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt Ave., St. Louis.