FALL TOUR 2008

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="040f0f21egerdp.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="041203c0.jpg" border=0 width="32" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Magic of Reading</B></FONT><B>      |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Magic of Reading"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03ff2f02egerdp.jpg"> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">    <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">  <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">    <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="1073bed0.gif" border=0 width="315" height="493" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="042f0f03.jpg"> <div> <I>FALL TOUR 2008 </I></div> <div> <B>Sunday, November 2, 2008</B></div> <bR> <div> SUMMERVILLE, SC   I began my fall 2008 travels September 9-12 with a trip to LaGrange, Georgia with stops in Lanette, Alabama and Andersonville, Georgia.  I spoke at the LaGrange Memorial Library, Central Elementary in Lanette, Sumter County Primary in Americus, Georgia, Cherokee Elementary, in Americus, Georgia and Schley County Elementary in Ellaville, Georgia.  </div> <bR> <div> The highlight of this trip, beyond the visits to the schools and library on my schedule, was the stay at Andersonville National Historic Site.   The wonderful people at Andersonville have sponsored my visits to the Americus area three years in a row, and I have spoken to thousands of children because of them.</div> <bR> <div> Spending the night at the Andersonville prison site is an awe-inspiring thing for a person who loves history and knows the story of Andersonville. </div> <bR> <div> The following are schools I performed at between September 30 and October 31.   Ben was a busy boy those weeks and was thrilled just about at every stop.  He met many, many wonderful people and returned home after weeks on the road Halloween night, October 31, 2008.</div> <bR> <div> Sevierville Middle School, Tennessee</div> <div> North Asheville Christian School, North Carolina</div> <div> Happy Valley Elementary, Johnson City, Tennessee</div> <div> Union West Regional Library, Indian Trail, North Carolina</div> <div> Rowan County-Salisbury Public Library, Salisbury, North Carolina</div> <div> Our Lady of Mercy School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina</div> <div> Mt. Olivet Elementary School, Martinsville, Virginia</div> <div> Johnson Elementary, Danville, Virginia</div> <div> Southside Elementary School, Blairs, Virginia</div> <div> Gunn Memorial Library, Yanceyville, North Carolina</div> <div> Madison Elementary School, McLeansville, North Carolina</div> <div> Mountcalm, Elementary School, West Virginia</div> <div> Rosedale Elementary School, Oak Hill, West Virginia</div> <div> Mountainview Christian School, Oak Hill, West Virginia</div> <div> Denese Elementary, West Virginia</div> <div> Rupert Elementary School, West Virginia</div> <div> Norwood Elementary, Clarksburg, West Virginia</div> <div> Grove Hill Elementary, Shenandoah, Virginia</div> <div> Shenandoah Elementary School, Virginia</div> <div> Wilson Elementary School, Fishersville, Virginia</div> <div> Bedford County Primary School, Bedford, Virginia</div> <div> Gilbert Linkous Elementary School, Blacksburg, Virginia</div> <div> Blacksburg Branch Library, Virginia</div> <div> Lee M. Waid Elementary School, Rocky Mount, Virginia</div> <div> Blue Ridge Library, Martinsville, Virginia</div> <div> Kentuck Elementary School, Virginia</div> <div> Glenwood Elementary School, Danville, Virginia</div> <div> Mt. Airy Elementary School, Virginia</div> <bR> <div> Just typing this list brought a flood of memories.  Each school or library listed represents many laughs, many smiles, many people, and many, many vivid images in my mind!  Thank you each and every one!</div> <bR> <div> It does seem a little ridiculous for people to pay me to do something that brings me so much joy.  All I can say to that is - I still have to work very hard and spend a lot of money to put together and to do a schedule like I have just returned from.</div> <bR> <div> The most exciting moment of my fall travel thus far, strangely enough, did not occur during one of my programs.  It happened just after daylight, Tuesday, September 30 on I-26 about 30 miles south of Spartanburg, South Carolina headed north.</div> <bR> <div> I was driving up the interstate highway as I generally do in my stocking feet.  When traffic is light, I like to tuck my left foot under me, to take some pressure off my back and legs.  I decided to make an adjustment to my GPS, which was located pretty far forward on the slanted windshield of my van.  In order to reach the GPS and make the adjustment, I had to plant my left foot on the floor of the van and press forward with it pretty strongly.</div> <bR> <div> Suddenly I realized my left foot was somehow lodged in the floor of the van!  I could not move it and when I tried to withdraw it, my foot and toes really, really began to hurt.  It was like, I later thought, I had lifted a refrigerator a few inches off the floor and stuck my bare foot under it.   Then gently let it down.</div> <bR> <div> Panic quickly set it.  The good thing was there wasn't much traffic; the bad thing was there was no exit in sight and I wanted to pull over now!</div> <bR> <div> As I drove the five or six miles to the next exit, a multitude of thoughts bombarded my mind, none of which, I must say, were positive.  The pain in my toes was intense.  My foot was firmly lodged and could not be moved.  I could imagine the foot swelling and becoming even more lodged and even more painful.  </div> <bR> <div> When I finally found a spot where I could stop the car and give my full attention to this nightmare, I tried to relax and solve the problem without resorting to hysteria.  After a few minutes, I gave up being rational and called my wife.  It must be a rare joy to be awakened by a spouse with a difficulty such as I had.  My first words were:  “Don't worry, everything is fine, I think.  I have not had an accident.  MY FOOT IS STUCK IN MY CAR!”</div> <bR> <div> Luckily, Ginger is a mental health counselor, so she did not panic.  She realized I was not dead and wasn't likely to die from this difficulty.  Looking back, I'm surprised she didn't burst into laughter.</div> <bR> <div> Anyway, talking to Ginger had an immediate calming effect on me.  After a few seconds, I told her I had an idea and I wanted to hang up and try it.  I would call her back in a minute or two and let her know if I needed her to call the fire department or EMS to extricate me from the car.</div> <bR> <div> The idea that came to me was a kind of a picture of how my foot had gotten stuck in the floor.  I imagined me pressing down, and my foot sliding down into the plastic crevice that had then closed around it.  Instead of pulling the foot straight out, as I kept trying to do, I would have to press down and lift it up the crevice, the way it had entered.</div> <bR> <div> When I first tried this, nothing happened.  This almost initiated another wave of panic, but I tried again, a little more rigorously, and suddenly I felt one of my toes being released from the crack.  All that was keeping me attached to the vehicle now was my little toe, and I would not have minded at all having EMS cutting that one off if they had to!</div> <bR> <div> Needless to say, a few more minutes wiggling around and forcing my foot up the crevice, and voila!  I was free!</div> <bR> <div> About this time an old guy drove by on a tractor on the lonely farm road where this life or death drama was unfolding.  He stopped and looked at me and said, “Everything okay here?”</div> <bR> <div> I was feeling a little hilarious and said, “Everything is great, <I>now!</I>  You won't believe this but my foot was stuck in the floor of my car!  Ha, ha, ha!”</div> <bR> <div> The guy didn't say anything.  He just put his tractor in gear and drove off. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Sunday, November 23, 2008</B></div> <bR> <div> SUMMERVILLE, SC   My travels November 10 - 21 kept me a little closer to home.  The following is a list of schools and libraries I visited during this time.</div> <bR> <div> Oakland Primary School, Sumter, SC</div> <div> Wesmark Branch Library, Sumter, SC</div> <div> Locust Grove Elementary, Locust Grove, GA</div> <div> McGinnis Woods Country Day School, Alpharetta, GA</div> <div> Providence Christian School, Lilburn, GA</div> <div> Macedonia Elementary School, Canton, GA</div> <div> New Georgia Elementary, Villa Rica, GA</div> <div> Mathews Elementary, Greenwood, SC</div> <div> Hodges Elementary, Greenwood, SC</div> <div> Toccoa-Stevens Public Library, Toccoa, GA</div> <bR> <div> I am happy to say that the only adventures I had during this time were on stage!  If I close my eyes I can see the highways, the places, the faces, and I can hear the voices that made for a wonderful two week trip close to home.   Thank you for inviting me to speak at your school or library.  Thank you for allowing me to, as one boy put it, “brag a lot” about Benjamin Franklin.  Thank you for providing an audience that I sincerely hope will never forget the time we had.</div> <bR> <div> There is one more memorable thing about my fall 2008 travel schedule.  When I hit the road in September the price of gas was over $4.00 per gallon.  When I filled up in Columbia, South Carolina on November 21, the cost was $1.69.   </div> <bR> <div> Other national changes include a dramatic plunge in the stock market to new 5-year lows, and the election of the first African-American President.  Joe the Plummer had his five minutes of fame, and the governor of Alaska rose to lofty heights before being lampooned on Saturday Night Live.  </div> <bR> <div> A lot can happen in two or three months!</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id155.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SPRING TOUR 2009"><U><I>SPRING TOUR 2009</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SPRING TOUR 2008"><U><I>SPRING TOUR 2008</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Magic of Reading"><U><I>The Magic of Reading</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Recent Bookings"><U><I>Recent Bookings</I></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>