Eight months ago, CBS broadcast the 229th presentation of The Hallmark Hall of Fame, In the Valley of Light. Toward the end of the program, a commercial depicting a scene from the life of a retiring professor named Fuller and a former student named Hooper touched my heart in a very special way.

Fuller set the stage with this rhetorical question:" I hope I didn't ruin your entire life?"

Hooper replies" "No, not at all."

The former student read the poem on the card she is carrying:

Who in this life hasn't planted a seed just hoping that somehow something would grow.

You may not remember all of the things that you've done, but everywhere around you seeds are growing and people are blooming...

I know. I'm one of them.

Professor Fuller interrupts and asks this question: "So Hooper what did you grow up to be an investment banker, an internet guru?"

"No," Hooper rejoins,"I'm a teacher."

To say that I was moved to tears is an understatement. When I regained my composure, I was determined to find out who wrote those beautiful words, and how this commercial came to be.

An e-mail to a very responsive person in the Hallmark media department and I was connected with a woman named Barbara Loots who wrote the poem that became the basis of that wonderful commercial. Little did I know then, that the beautiful, poetic words of Barbara Loots would change my life in significant ways.

Her response to my note was recorded on a Hallmark note card that carried another one of her poems, and this stanza gave me the idea for The Garden of Life in Windsor Park. That led to an invitation to the Irish TeachersFestival in Windsor Park, and one of the most wonderful visits we have ever had here.

On July 26, 2007, Kitch and I met the woman who has been writing inspirational poetry for Hallmark cards since the 1960's. She represents everything one has grown to expect from a company like Hallmark. She is a woman of quality, intelligence, compassion and class.

In this segment we are honored to introduce you to Barbara as she took the stage to express her thanks and to set the stage for a performance by the Brighter Light Choral Ensemble. It was a magic moment, and one that we will never forget.

Thank you Professor Fuller.

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