N meets "Johnny"

Last night was the groundbreaking ceremony and community night in our township. There were games, food, live music, firetrucks, and the official groundbreaking ceremony followed by fireworks.

We were positioned pretty close to the stage for the ceremony part of the evening. They had several speakers that spoke of the past of the school, and three different time periods when they had attended. While that was fascinating to listen to, the highlight for me was the last speaker- it was Johnny from "Johnny and the Sprites".


Apparently he was a 96 graduate of UDHS. As soon as he was done speaking, I scrounged up a crayon and a piece of paper from my diaper bag and wove my way through the crowd, with E and N close behind me. When we got up to where he was, on the other side of the police tape, I handed the paper and crayon to E and told her to ask for his autograph. They had some trouble getting close, as he was talking to old teachers, so E returned to me. "Get his autograph- he's the one right there-- in the blue shirt!" I whispered to E. She reluctantly turned back towards Johnny, and I could see her trying to force the paper into N's hand, and whispering insistently that he do it. I guess it worked because the next thing I saw was N trying to get close in this crowd of grownups, clutching the paper and crayon while E stood behind me. "Why aren't you up there?" I asked. "I don't wan't to! I want N to do it!" she whined. "OK", I sighed, and then turned my attention back to N who was now tugging on Johnny's leg, his little face turned up, crayon extended. Johnny finished his conversation and then knelt down next to N with a big smile on his face. "Hi there! Do you want me to sign that?"

N nodded silently, his eyes shining.

"What's your name?"

"N"

"Well, N, do you watch 'Johnny and the Sprites?'"

Another silent nod

"Which one is your favorite?" At this I wondered what N would say- I knew he would never remember individual names. Fortunately Johnny listed them off and N nodded after one of them.

"Well, I will tell Lily that you said 'hi' when I see her, OK?"

N broke into a big grin and nodded again.

"How about a high-5?" I was now standing next to N and as he gave Johnny a high 5 I thanked him for taking the time to talk to N.

We walked back to where Ed and K were waiting and we listened to Gov. Rendell speak before the fireworks started. They were set up right in front of us, and it was a great show, especially since the band played along with them. When it comes down to it, N's favorite part of the night was probably the fireworks, but as for me, I was thrilled that we got to meet Johnny!