Phenomenal Women

Dr. Maya Angelou's 80th birthday is today. When I was 16, I lucked into two tickets to attend a reading with Maya Angelou. I wrote to her and invited her to come to our home for dinner after the reading. Can you imagine? I just put it out there. I was thinking, I love her. Of course she would like to be invited to dinner. Why not.

16 is great in that way.

She didn't respond to my letter, but I didn't care. I just liked sending her good words. She continues to send so many to me through her work.

I took my favorite English teacher with me to the lecture. She has since retired, but I still send her holiday cards and still love her to bits. English is not her first language and perhaps that is why she loves it and how she is able to inspire others to see it for new beauties that go unnoticed by the accustomed ear.

I used to dream of attending Wake Forest and being one of Dr. Angelou's students. But as I sat in the audience and listened to her speak, it was not all that different from reading her work or listen to her spoken word. In that moment, I felt this great comfort about books and the written word: that you can be a student of anyone who puts it down on the page from anywhere in the world.

Thank you to Mrs. B, and thank you Dr. Angelou for being such great women, teachers, friends.