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I had the wonderful honor this week to speak at the Crescite Book Club meeting in the beautiful Bank Bistro Restaurant. The lovely hostess of the club, Tracey Robinson, extended the gracious invitation to me, as they wanted to invite a local author. It was a wonderful meeting.

As I met the members at the meet and greet, it was easy to realize we all loved and enjoyed reading books.
At the luncheon part of the meeting, I sat listening to the members talk. I enjoyed hearing their stories about their children and grandchildren, how to make a good chicken recipe, tips about how to get the soil tested to grow healthy, vibrant azaleas, how much Washington has changed over a few years, the kindness of people in this town, or a new book someone had started to read.

Some members were older than me and some were younger. But it was evident we were more alike than we were different. I had planned to talk about being an author, but as I sat there and listened to their stories, I realized we were all authors. We were authors of the books of our lives that we live daily. And so instead of sharing about the books and plays I have written, I wanted to talk about us sharing the books of our lives, because our lives share the common theme. And as we invite people to come and listen to our story, we realize we are more alike than we are different. Before I got up to speak, I thought about the poem ”Human Family’, written by Dr. Maya Angelou. Here is some of the poem.

It is time for the preachers, the rabbis, the priests
Pundits and the professors,
To believe in the awesome wonder of diversity
It is time for parents to teach young people early on,
That in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength.

I note the obvious differences in the human family
Some of us are serious, some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived as true profundity,
And others claim they really live the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones can confuse, bemuse, delight
Brown and pink, and beige, and purple, tan and blue, and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas and stopped in every land
I’ve seen the wonders of the world
Not yet one common man.

I note the obvious differences between each sort and type
But we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike,
We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike
We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.

And I would like to add this…whether we write a book or not, how we live our lives, will become authors of the ‘book’ about us many will read. And our lives invite people to come and listen to our story.

Thank you, Crescite Book Club, for the invitation and thank you to all who read my column.

Leesa Jones is a Washington native and the co-curator of the Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad Museum.