15 Minutes of Fame

Many of you have heard of the late artist Andy Warhol’s saying that everyone sometime during their life will have their “15 Minutes of Fame”. Mine was 35 years ago when I was a senior in high school. You see during those melancholy years of teenage angst I had given my English teacher some poems I had written. She liked them and I thought that was the end of that. At the end of the year there was the Senior Awards Assembly. As the announcement was made for the Norman Stateman Poetry Award, all eyes, including mine, turned to this girl who was known for writing poetry. Only her name wasn’t announced, mine was. I was in shock. There was a bit of a buzz and I was asked to read a poem or two in class, but being too shy and self conscious I declined.

Well, fast forward, and now Barbara has honored me for my second chance for my “15 minutes of fame”. I guess the moral of the story is that when your 15 minutes come, grab ‘em, bask in them, and enjoy because you never know if (or when) you’ll get the chance again.

So thanks Barbara for the opportunity. I’ll try to do you proud!

Copyright © 2005 Deborah Sharp Loeb