Providence or Coincidence?

When I was a kid attending elementary school in Chicago, one of my teachers invited a writer to come talk to us. He didn't meet us in the makeshift auditorium (better known as the school gymnasium, which would be filled with chairs for big events) but met with a small group of students in the breezeway by the library. It may have been open to the kids who were interested in meeting a published author and I found myself there, hanging on his every word. He had a strange name which I'd never heard before or since then, until today.

I'm currently listening to Roger Ebert's memoir, 'Life Itself.' In talking about the people he knew, he mentioned Harry Mark Petrakis and the light came on in my head. THAT was the author who'd come to talk to us all those years ago.

I'd been trying to put together stories since I was a tyke. I spent many years drawing pictures, which became comic books, in order to convey my talespinning. When Petrakis visited, it was if he was talking directly to ME. I didn't care about all the other kids who seemed they weren't interested. I knew then I wanted to WRITE for a living. Over time, I concentrated more on stories instead of pictures and eventually stopped drawing altogether (some say it's a shame).

Well, I just found Petrakis's website and email address. I'm going to give it some thought over the weekend, but I'm going to drop him a line of thanks. Oh, I'm sure he won't recall some little awkward kid with an afro who hung onto his every word as if he was meeting a superstar. To me, he was. I guess maybe now I should pick up some of his books...