Do you have things on your bucket list that you didn’t even conceive of putting on the actual list? Well, a couple of recent events proved that things you don’t even dare of wishing for can come true.
It’s no secret that I LOVE reading…and since I don’t sleep very much, I read A LOT. I’ve been lucky in my life to have access to great books through fantastic publishers and meet some really incredible authors. However my all time favorite author, Alice Munro, is a very private woman and doesn’t do a lot of media events or public appearances, so when I had the opportunity to drive to her house – her actual house! – and meet her I was, of course, beside myself.
Of course I’ll bet you’re wondering how I managed to arrange this.
I am a board member at Canopy. This incredible organization works on saving the world’s forests (among other things) and has been working hard with publishers, authors and the the overall pulp & paper industry to stop using virgin trees to make books. A solution is straw paper. Yup, you read correctly. Paper that is made from the leftovers the grain content. Yes, it is still white and no, you can’t tell the difference, I swear.
Long story short, Alice Munro printed 50 special editions of her latest book, “Dear Life”, on this paper and I drove to her house, where she signed every book. And we talked! An actual intimate conversation! By the way, each book sold gives money back to Canopy, which in turns helps to save the forests. And you get a signed Alice Munro book. How awesome is that??
The next very cool thing that happened to me was meeting Raffi. The real, live Baby Beluga Raffi. He actually tweeted me and we ended up Skyping about the great work he is doing to help keep children safe online. He was in Toronto a few months ago doing live concerts (I honestly remember going to see him live when I was a kid) and he interviewed me for his new book called “#lightwebdarkweb”.
Evidently he thought I sounded like a reasonably knowledgeable person and I’m actually quoted in the book (pages 26-28 if you are so inclined). It is a great book about cyber safety (and I’m not just saying that because I’m in it!) and I encourage all parents and caregivers of children to give it a read because these days you can’t be too careful.
Just remember that it is always posible that you might meet a few of your own heroes in life…if I can do it, so can you!
