A second signing event was held at St. John’s for interested parties who are not members of the congregation. Former elementary and high school classmates of Brenda and I (including a character from my book), and even my older siblings, former neighbors, including those we grew up with and from when we were married adults, showed up to reconnect with us, purchase signed books, and share stories of my father and us from long ago. Brenda and I were amazed to hear from old friends how my father had positively impacted their lives, including their envy of how my siblings and I were raised and how well-behaved we were as children. I was blown away to hear from high school classmates of my two older siblings how they, too, were missed after my father’s death, and “seemed to disappear and die, just like my father did.” It’s incredible how a single encounter with another person can have a profoundly positive, lasting impact on their life.
James B. Wells 