To remind me of that, I carry a stuffed toy, a small spotted dog that five-year-old Amber Mary brought me, along with a plastic bag holding a few pennies, at the end of a talk I gave in Florida.

A high school student walking with her father, who is holding her bag.

We had to stop walking for a moment so he could catch his breath, I stood there, holding my bag of gum, staring at him and trying to figure out what was so darn funny.