The Women In Our Lives

I owe my optimism to my mother, a single parent whose ironclad confidence kept my sister and I from ever suspecting how poor we really were. We felt like Mom could do anything. She made us feel like everything was going to be okay.

And amazingly, it was.

I owe my business to my wife, Pennie, who never worried or complained or suggested that I get a real job, even when the cut-off notices began to arrive from the utility companies. My prayer for our sons throughout their lives has been that they would each marry a wife who would give them the same freedom and support I've gotten from Princess Pennie since we were both 18.

The older son has been married for 2 years now and I'm delighted to report that God answers prayer.

I owe my love of literature to an Oklahoma public school teacher named Linn Ball in whose English class I was privileged to sit as a junior and senior in high school.

These are three of the women who shaped my life. Who were the sculptresses of yours?

Keith Miller reminded me of Linn Ball recently when he said, “Roy, we've got to preserve the almost-forgotten wisdom.”

That conversation ended with Wizard Academy agreeing to host an important event this summer, but we can't do it without your input. Here's what we need from you:

1. Think of a teacher that is truly gifted. “This world would be a different place if every teacher was like (who?).”

2. Contact that teacher and tell them you'd like to submit their name as a possible candidate to be invited to a national summit on education.

3. Send us – with their permission – the teacher's contact information along with the reasons why their name is the one you'd use to finish that sentence. Tell us exactly what this teacher did that rocked your world. A simple name and recommendation isn't enough. We need you to remember a specific incident that illustrates how this teacher does things differently.

The result of this conference is going to be a book filled with innovative teaching techniques and true-life stories that will be shared with educators across America.

This is not a money-making proposition. It's a focused effort to rescue a generation in need of teachers who can fan the flames of flickering intellect until it blazes into a conflagration of knowledge.

Teachers who light fires do things differently. We're going to extract the fiery sparks from these gifted teachers and put them into a book other teachers will use like a box of matches.

Right now you're thinking of a teacher, aren't you? Please contact him or her. Do it now.

This can turn out 2 ways:

1. You can plan to do it, mean to do it, promise to do it and then get ambushed by the urgencies of daily life and say, “Oh well, I'm sure they got lots of names and stories from other people.” The result will be no conference, no preservation of the almost-forgotten wisdom, no rescue of a generation that is fading fast.

2. Or you can track down the teacher, explain to them that Wizard Academy is a credible think-tank and that yes, this conference will be chaired by Keith Miller himself, that legendary author of bestselling books that rocked America throughout the 70s and 80s. (I'll be there, too, but your teacher is a lot less likely to have heard of me. Just ask them if they remember The Taste of New Wine or Habitation of Dragons or any of the other bestsellers by Keith Miller.)

Our promise of a book emerging from this conference isn't just a daydream. If the conference happens, the book will happen. And your teacher will be part of it.

You gonna call your teacher? We really need you to do it.

Email your 500 to 1,000-word narrative and teacher contact information before midnight, April 30, 2007, to Tamara@WizardAcademy.org

Right now I'm going to put Jodie Gateman's name on the list along with Dr. B.C. DeSpain and then find out whatever happened to Linn Ball. We haven't spoken in 30 years.

But we're about to.

Roy H. Williams