In the best of times, life is a challenge with personal victories sprinkled in here and there. On that note, I have two little stories to tell, both are personal victories. A week ago a friend, Jim, gave me a book about growing up in the 50s and 60. It’s filled with family photos and famous people of those days like Hoppy and Howdy. Jim, an engineer, spent the last 10 years of his Saturday mornings writing it. It’s not for sale—just for family and a few friends—20 copies in all. He wanted his grown kids to know what it was like growing up during those decades. The book looks totally professional.
Although he had no intentions of releasing it to the public, I was hoping that I could tell him two things: it’s well-crafted and worthy of mass publication where it will become a best seller. Again, the latter was not Jim’s goal, nor was it the reason I was given the book to “review.” The autobiography is well-crafted, but it has a number of copyrighted photos and inspirational lyrics at the beginning of each chapter. So he couldn’t sell it as is. But Jim accomplished his goal of sharing his childhood with all those that love him. And I am happy that I now know him even better.
Secondly, today I had a superb time doing a poetry presentation in a third grade classroom—lots of laughs and fun. And at the end of the performance, one student came up to me and hugged me. I don’t know exactly why. But it was certainly brave of her. Maybe I reminded her of her grandfather. Maybe she thought it was the best way she could thank me for the visit. It worked. I felt appreciated all the way home by everyone there, especially her, the Brave One.