The questioner had no idea! We were anticipating together Mississippi’s biggest lawn party scheduled for this Saturday, August 19. I mentioned that I had attended all eight of them except last year when I had Covid, even the ones during the pandemic that became virtual. She asked, “When you went to the first one, did you have any idea that you would ever be a panelist?”
When I attended that first Mississippi Book Festival in 2015, my Keats work was still a messy draft and targeted to middle graders. There was not much in that stage that signaled a place on a panel. But the disbelief goes back much further as I discussed this week with my sister Beth who remembers me from that time.
We four sisters were blessed (?) with a father who thought his girls could do anything. In addition, he had never feared any kind of public speaking and thought the bigger the crowd, the more fun it was. Therefore, he volunteered for us to get up in front of people to talk or perform any time there was an occasion. If there wasn’t an occasion, he would make one. This week, I recalled with Beth the first of these occasions that I remember. It was in my very early school days, and he had me stand in front of the church and tell the story of Daniel. The very best part was finishing, sitting down, and crying tears of relief that it was over.
Well satisfied with his efforts, Daddy continued to look for opportunities for me to overcome that fear. His encouraging words, “People won’t bite,” didn’t give much help. We will condense a lot of time here, but I didn’t cry again when I finished a public activity. It took a long time before I quit dreading such an event and cringing for days ahead of time. Then somehow it became okay and something I could get through. Imagine my surprise the first time I tapped into Daddy’s genes and actually enjoyed doing a presentation!
I’ve been grateful, after a long career of standing in front of kindergarteners, second graders, and junior high students, that Daddy pushed me to see the fun of reacting with an audience. (In case you haven’t noticed, teachers are performers.) Along the way, I came to see that he was right – people don’t bite – and interacting with them is enjoyable.
So, yes, it is a surprise that I will be a panelist at this year’s Mississippi Book Festival. The messy middle grade draft is one reason, but the bigger surprise is that scared little girl who finished her story for the Sunday night church crowd before sitting down and bursting into tears. I invite you to join the fun in the C-Span room at the biography panel on Saturday at 1:30 PM. I’m counting on a good time!