Day 117 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!  

My friend, Kim Daly of the Urbane Concierge, was a sponsor of the 23rd Annual YWCA Luncheon at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

She invited me to join her at the fundraiser with Keynote Speaker, Jane Goodall, the world-renowned  primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian who (at 79 years young) travels 300 days each year to deliver her message worldwide.

Ms. Goodall, made a point to tell the audience how important a strong mother is for the optimum development of a child, and illustrated the point with a poignant story about her own mother and stories of chimpanzee mothers as well.

I bought two books at the presentation including, In the Shadow of Man and Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man. I waited in line to get the books signed and when my turn arrived, I remembered that I had a copy of Papa’s Pearls in my purse. I slipped my hand into my bag, pulled out the book, and presented it to Ms. Goodall saying, “Please accept this gift. I agree with you that strong mothers are essential to rearing children, and I also think strong fathers are essential as well.”

“I couldn’t agree more!” she exclaimed.

I added, “I wrote this book about my dad, who was a strong and loving father. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it on one of your airplane trips.”

She took the book and said, “Thank you, I most certainly will!”

Then, I was shooed along by the staff members who wanted to keep the line moving.  🙂

The Santa Clara Convention Center is GIGANTIC and it was a very long walk to and from the parking lot.  On the way back to my car, I walked alongside a young woman who was moved by Jane Goodall’s reminder that the most important thing we can do to improve the world is to make decisions using both our brains and our hearts when it comes to animals, people, and the environment we share. My walking partner said, “We all need to be reminded of that from time to time.”  Indeed.