Going Home

One party for The Chiru of High Tibet wasn't enough for me. So when the Board of the Turner Public Library in my home town invited me to come and share the story of the book, I immediately said yes. The party was last Sunday at the library and what a party it was! The Board members had done a wonderful job of publicizing the event with stories in local papers and posters posted in Turner and nearby towns. They even made cakes and cookies, hot cider and coffee.

I am finding, as I share the chiru story, that many of us respond to the plight of these shy animals. Though most may never have a chance to see them, we do care that they stay in their spot in our world. We have some sense of the web-ness of the world and we want that web to be whole.

It's always a treat for me to talk about Tibet and the story covered in the book, but last Sunday was a special personal treat. The afternoon offered a chance to see friends and relatives I had not seen for a long time, my aunt Alberta, cousin Joan and others, my school friend Marion Emerson. (My sisters came, too, and we planned a lark, but that's a story for another day.) The library is located in the building that had been my high school--Leavitt Institute. For a few seconds I was a high schooler, running up the stairs to Latin class, and I half expected to see John MacMorran or Luther Bonney at the top of the stairs. I wish I had. I would have said thanks for all they gave me. Good teachers change lives in ways they can never know. Thanks to all of you teachers out there, who are changing lives every day.