What A Privilege!

(Ron Hall & Denver Moore at a book signing for their book Same Kind of Different As Me in Dec. 2006 in Aledo, Texas; photo courtesy of my friend Lee Ann Moore)

Thanks to the generosity of my writer friend TJ and her husband Corbin, I had the awesome privilege of getting to hear best-selling authors Ron Hall and Denver Moore share their life story tonight, in their own words. In my own words, it was truly amazing!

For those of you who know me, you know that ever since June of last year, I have been trying to get as many people as possible to read Same Kind of Different As Me. I simply cannot describe how wonderful the book is or how potentially life-changing its message is. As soon as I started the book, I called the publisher and ended up getting to attend one of the first book signings in June 2006 at the Murchison Estate in Dallas. So, tonight was actually my third time to get to see the men behind the book. (Does that make me an official groupie or a stalker?)

Tonight was extra special though because I got an update on the book's success and had the opportunity to hear Ron and Denver tell about Miss Debbie's legacy---about how one person can make a difference---and how Denver is continuing to carry Miss Debbie's torch. Some interesting facts: Ron mentioned that their book is third right now on amazon.com in the biography division (#1 is Clarence Thomas's book; #2 is Tony Dungy's book; #3 Denver's; #4 is Sidney Poitier's book; and #5 is Barack Obama's book), and so Denver is ahead of Barack Obama in the polls! Ron also mentioned that they have signed a movie deal with Mark Clayman, the producer of The Pursuit of Happyness.

After Ron, "the opening act for Denver," gave a shortened but brutally honest version of how he met and befriended Denver, Denver put his shy tendencies aside and took the stage while singing, "God is still protecting me; God just kept on blessing me." He commented openly about how he would never have written a book if he had known that he would have to speak on stages. Thankfully, he didn't know about marketing books because we had the rare treat of getting to hear him "preach" (though he didn't like it when people called out "Amen" to the rousing parts of his message). He is truly an instrument of God and a modern-day prophet. It was a delight to see him getting to deliver a message that he is completely passionate about.

A side benefit of the evening was getting to meet and have a wonderful dinner with some of TJ and Corbin's good friends. It was a fun evening that I want to reminisce about and reflect upon for a while, but alas I must get some sleep.