I had good fortune twice from one event. I had done a presentation at Columbia Heights Middle School one year. The first good fortune was being invited back the next year. I was in the gymnasium. The kids were filing in. The bleachers couldn’t hold them all so they sat in rows on the floor. I was waiting patiently by my microphone when a little girl sat down close. She waived so I knelt near her.
“I saw you last year,” she said. “Because of you I wrote a story for my mom.”
“That’s really great,” I said. “Tell me about your story.””
“There was this little girl and her mommy. The daddy would drink a lot and sometimes hit the mommy and even the little girl. So the little girl found a magic horse that could fly. The girl took her mommy on the horse, and they flew to an island where the daddies were all nice and hugged everyone. The girl and her mommy live there happily ever after.”
Just then, the school principal introduced me. “And now, here is Mr. Blumer.”
I was rattled. I was concerned about the girl’s story but had to go to the microphone. My wife is a second grade teacher, and I know from her, that I needed to tell someone about the little girl. When my presentation was over, I went over to the nearest teacher.
“I saw you talking to my student before we started,” the teacher said. “Did she tell you about her story?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m more than a little concerned.”
“Don’t worry,” the teacher said and gave me a kind smile. “Your presentation gave her the motivation for her story. She gave it to her mother who then found the courage to get her and her daughter out of an abusive relationship. And now they really are living happily ever after thanks to you.”
Wow. I don’t care if I never sell a book. This was the greatest reward I could receive.
