It all began last summer when Emma Flanders, now 10 and in 5th grade at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School in Jacksonville, FL., e-mailed me. She told me that she had read all of my books and that she was my biggest fan. She also thanked me for writing in this genre (non-fiction natural history books) for people of her age group. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed, and touched, by this correspondence.
I wrote back and Emma and I became e-mail friends. Over the course of the next few months, Emma invited me down to Florida to visit her school. I told her that I do visit schools as an author but it needs to be arranged by a teacher. Enter Tracy Langley, one of the most enthusiast and dedicated teachers, and literacy coordinators that I have ever met.
Since Christmas when she first contacted me, and especially since the first of March, we pulled off this visit. Tracy worked non-stop with lining up other schools for me to visit. I ended up visiting Loretto and Sallye B. Mathis Schools, as well as speaking to a group of literacy coordinators in the Jacksonville area (thank you Maxine Bergman). All of my visits and talks were well received and I made many friends over the course of two days.
At Hendricks Avenue, I found a group of dedicated teachers, parents and administrators who truly care about the education of their students and children. It was uplifting to see a public school with such high standards, where students flourish under the tutelage and encouragement of all of the adults. Thank you Ms. Peters for being the exemplary leader of this school.
But the best time, and truly one of the highlights of my life, was meeting Emma and staying with her family throughout my visit. They opened up their home and their lives to include me as family. Lynn, Scott and Leslie, as well as Ramona, Lynn's mom, all made me feel as if I had known them my entire life.
In Emma, I met a very intelligent, well-versed, and well-rounded young woman. She excels in sports, she plays in a special ORF musical group at school, she reads voraciously and she has begun her career as an author. Emma and I talked about writer's block, where we get our ideas and marketing your work. In a mere four days, Emma, and her family, have occupied a very special place in my heart and soul.
It is through experiences like this that I find my writing most rewarding. I always tell the students that I write and take photos in order to share the incredible experiences that Joe and I have with others and to teach them about our natural world. But the ultimate reward is meeting people like Emma. She gives me hope that our world will survive through the efforts of the next generation.
Thank you Emma, Tracy, Lynn, Scott, Leslie and Ramona for making
me one of the richest people on earth. Wealth, and true happiness,
is not measured by material things: it is measured by the people
you meet and who become your friends.
Thanks again everyone!
Mary Ann McDonald
P.S. To William -- Thanks for sending me your snake
pictures! Keep up the great herp work.
All the best,
Joe McDonald