Friday, April 18, 2008
West Point Visit
Ben and I had a wonderful visit to West Point last Tuesday. It was the first time either of us had been back to West Point since Ben's graduation in 1998. We didn't have as much time as we'd hoped to walk around and visit some of our favorite spots there, but I'm sure Ben will go back for a visit soon, and I hope to go back sometime this summer.
The West Point Women's Club hosted a reading and talk that evening in the History Library. They made us feel so welcome. I read some poems from the book and Ben and I talked about how we each felt about them. It was all very spontaneous and comfortable. The women who attended asked smart, insightful questions, and we had a stimulating conversation during the Q&A. A C-Span camera crew was there and filmed the reading and Q&A for their Book World channel. I'll post the date it will air when we get that information. We really felt at home with everyone. Many, many thanks to Kelly Clark, who made the arrangements for the reading, and to Shannon Palmer, who was the first to read some of the poems from The Warrior and then pass them on to Kelly and others in the WP Women's Club.
The following morning, Ben and I signed books for cadets and some of their instructors in the USMA Bookstore. Everyone who bought a book asked that I sign the book to their mother. Ben was in uniform, and the cadets who stopped by talked to him about their branch choices and majors, and when they talked to me, it was about their mothers. I enjoyed every moment and was so impressed by the young men and women I talked to. They are truly a treasure to our country, and certainly beloved to their families. Virginia Schlier, the Book Buyer and manager of the bookstore had put up a beautiful window display with copies of The Warrior surrounded by pink roses and toy army tanks. We took pictures and hope to post some of them soon. We are so grateful to Virginia and everyone in the bookstore for hosting us and for making the books even more inviting with the extra added enticement of coffee and cookies!
Thank you Virginia! Hope to see you in the summer.
The West Point Women's Club hosted a reading and talk that evening in the History Library. They made us feel so welcome. I read some poems from the book and Ben and I talked about how we each felt about them. It was all very spontaneous and comfortable. The women who attended asked smart, insightful questions, and we had a stimulating conversation during the Q&A. A C-Span camera crew was there and filmed the reading and Q&A for their Book World channel. I'll post the date it will air when we get that information. We really felt at home with everyone. Many, many thanks to Kelly Clark, who made the arrangements for the reading, and to Shannon Palmer, who was the first to read some of the poems from The Warrior and then pass them on to Kelly and others in the WP Women's Club.
The following morning, Ben and I signed books for cadets and some of their instructors in the USMA Bookstore. Everyone who bought a book asked that I sign the book to their mother. Ben was in uniform, and the cadets who stopped by talked to him about their branch choices and majors, and when they talked to me, it was about their mothers. I enjoyed every moment and was so impressed by the young men and women I talked to. They are truly a treasure to our country, and certainly beloved to their families. Virginia Schlier, the Book Buyer and manager of the bookstore had put up a beautiful window display with copies of The Warrior surrounded by pink roses and toy army tanks. We took pictures and hope to post some of them soon. We are so grateful to Virginia and everyone in the bookstore for hosting us and for making the books even more inviting with the extra added enticement of coffee and cookies!
Thank you Virginia! Hope to see you in the summer.
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