What a glorious autumn in Santa Fe! Though soon all the gold leaves on the aspens and cottonwoods will fly away, they have been stunning and a grand source of energy. I’ve been traveling again: two wonderful Texas visits, to Brownsville and Fort Worth. At the former, I met many children, and wonderful librarians and community members very excited about growing Día in that region. In Fort Worth, I saw about a thousand students in two days from 250 kindergarteners—at once, and beautifully behaved; to a group of teens interested in creative writing. Again, I met more committed librarians. How they energize me and how grateful I am to them and to the wonderful teachers with whom they work. And speaking of teens, I was fortunate to be on a poetry panel at YALSA organized by poetry champion Dr. Sylvia Vardell. I so enjoyed meeting librarians who savor working with young adults. My final trips of 2010 are to the Savannah Book Festival and to NCTE in Orlando.

This fall season seemed a good time to post an essay on leadership (and geese) that I wrote years ago. Interesting that many of the ideas surfaced again in my newest book, ZING! Hope you enjoy the essay.

Wishing you a Thanksgiving that includes lots of laughter and becomes a wonderful and sustaining memory in your life. I’ll have two of my children and a dear son-in-law (I call him my son-in-spirit) here with me. I’m giddy with delight.