Last Friday I spoke to 100 5th grade girls in a school outside of Houston. This was the official kick-off school event for my Birdie’s Book tour. The day before I was interviewed on Fox’s Good Day Houston. Live television is unpredictable and scary, but I got through it with a bit of humor and a stellar musical performance by 12-year-old Gabby Gillespie, who is not afraid of anything.
So I was not prepared for shaky knees and welling eyes as I stood in the back of the Alexander Elementary library watching girls file in one by one, class by class. I was deeply aware that they were the answer to the question, ” Why did I write this story?” Bad timing for a speaker to cry just before going on. This is how I know something is true to the core of my being. Tears just happen, and there is nothing I can do to compose myself. I wiped my eyes and went out there and spoke about the books and the other things I had created—for them.
I told them about my dreams and the songwriting that had led me to this place, about the circuitous path through a labyrinth of time with an amazing prize in the middle—these girls. They had great questions like, “how do you remember your dreams?” and “which do you like better, song writing or book writing?” When they had to return to class, several of them asked me not to forget them when the movie comes out. I took this as a vote of confidence that my books would one day become a movie.
I will never forget you, 5th grade girls of Alexander Elementary in Katy, Texas, October 18, 2009. Never Never Never.