November 30

Writer's Almanac, November 30

A nice poem, and the birthday of two of my favorite authors: Mark Twain, and Lucy Maud Montgomery. When I was a little girl, and read Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and the Anne of Green Gables books, I wanted to be an author when I grew up.

November 30th also brings back another memory, a terrible one. It was the day my friend, Kori Stover, age 13, was killed. Every year on this day, I remember turning on the news to learn the truth of her death, and how I gave a recital later that night, all the while hoping that there had been a huge mistake--that the news had got it wrong, and that I'd come home from the recital to find out she was alive after all. While I had wanted to be an author, Kori wanted to be a dancer, and a wife and mother. Hardly any of us become what we dream of as children, but most of us at least we get to grow up and find out. Miss you, Kori.