The Tesla Testament and the VIP
"We must meet tonight," my friend Susan insisted over the phone. "You won't believe what happened."
I looked at my calendar for Wednesday 1.March.2006. I was booked until very late and wasn't feeling in a social mood. She was so perked up, though, that I finally agreed. 30 minutes later I dragged myself from my office to pick her up.
Susan is a flight attendant for a major US airline. She looked radiant when I picked her up. We exchanged small talk while we drove to a local sushi joint. I felt happy and relaxed; her company and chatter cheered me up. Soon we were sitting at the bar, nigiri and a special roll were on the way, and Susan got down to business.
"I won't tell you yet who this is about," she started. "Remember that game, 'if you could chat with anyone famous, alive or dead, who would it be?' -- I got my wish today. Let me read you a note I wrote to this gentleman I met today and tell me what you think. Then you can guess who this is... and, most important, why this is so important for you."
Susan read me a heartfelt, beautiful letter that spoke of her concerns about the environment and other things that I know she feels strongly about. It was a beautiful letter. She clearly respected the recipient; she told me, in between paragraphs, some additional information to provide context to the topics she spoke about in the letter. I was surprised, however, when she got to the end. The last paragraph was a bit chattier, and Susan kindly told her reader about my novel, The Tesla Testament, and mentioned a few things that he might find interesting about it. She recommended the book as an entertaining story (thanks, Susan!) and offered to get a copy for him.
"Wow, that's super-kind of you," I said, struggling to find the words. She didn't have to do that.
"Aw, don't mention it," she replied, her big blue eyes sparkling. "Do you want to know the best part? I handed him the letter while we were in flight and went about my business. When things quieted down, this gentleman handed me back the letter and we had a chance to talk for several minutes. He added a small note that you might care to read," she handed me the letter.
The handwriting was clearly different from Susan's and the ink was of a
different color:Yes, I would like the book on Tesla.
An address that I didn't recognize followed.
"So, can you guess who is my mystery person yet?"
"No," I replied, raking my brain. "I'm still surprised that you took the time to plug my book with him."
"It was Al Gore," Susan said. "He's such a nice gentleman, very intelligent, and so full of dignity. We had a wonderful conversation."
"Wow," I mouthed. People close to me know how I feel about the 2000 election, and that mr. Gore became one of my favourite people around 1991, when I saw a C-SPAN segment. A young senator who actually seemed to have a clue grabbed my attention while discussing a wide-range of environmental and technology issues in a panel. My best wishes in 2008, mr. Gore, if you decide to go for it.
Thanks Susan, for caring enough to take some of that precious time to discuss my book with him.
Thanks, mr. Gore. The book is on its way to Nashville and I hope that you like it. It''ll be a fun way to pass those long in-flight hours!
