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Pasadena’s a fair distance from my house, and traffic’s horrendous. So I rolled up to my sister Coral’s house at 2:00, which allowed us plenty of time for a leisurely dinner before Wednesday’s book event at Vroman’s Bookstore.

We ate at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles–a legendary, ultra-popular hangout, I’m told, but that didn’t matter to us. Nope, we were there for the food. We spent a lot of time in the South, you see, at roadside diners and church suppers. Grits. Crisp-fried chicken breasts served with home-baked biscuits. Waffles, cooked in a waffle iron, slathered in butter and drenched in syrup. Mmm…Southern Cooking’s one of my favorite rest stops along Memory Lane!  Would the food cooked at this Pasadena diner taste anything close to what I remember eating Way Back When?

 
Sue Ann ushered us to our seats. A sassy contralto, she moved to Hollywood to pursue a dream with Motown. Private gigs and oil painting–those are her main interests now, but she pours her heart and soul into waitressing, too. When I asked her to recommend her favorite menu items, she looked for all the world like I’d asked her the silliest question. She planted one hand on her hip and positioned the other behind her tilted head. “Girl, I like all of it! You know I didn’t get this sexy eating lettuce!” So as you can see in the picture below, we ended up sampling a little bit of everything. Also…see the radiant smile on my sister's face? More about that later.

Sue Ann kept refilling our coffee cups, and it wasn’t long before we were swapping stories about church picnics, soul food, and All Things Southern. “By the time you leave here, you’re gonna have that chicken glow about you,” she said. And herein lies the secret to Roscoe’s popularity: "Chicken glow" is a reflection of the love with which Roscoe's prepares and serves their food.

Like Luz (and so many other friends I've encountered along the way), Sue Ann blessed us with Light. I'm basking in it here…

…and reflecting it here.

With full hearts and stuffed bellies, we headed off to Vroman’s for the DEAR BULLY event. It drew people of all ages–people who understand the importance of this project and who relate to the issue of bullying, from whatever perspective, and for whatever reason. All 50 seats were filled, and an overflow crowd spilled into the aisles, leaned against bookshelves, and perched on nearby tables.

 
Connie (the event coordinator, bless her generous heart!) started us off by introducing the author panel. Here we are, left to right: me, Amy Goldman Koss, Cecil Castellucci, Lisa Yee, and Nancy Holder. We read our stories. We talked about the unique vantage points from which we experienced bullying. We showed off our Circle of Caring bracelets, paid tribute to friends who've helped us along the way, and talked about different paths we took, on the journey from darkness into light.

We listened, and we answered questions. And as with the book event in Santa Monica, some of the best parts of this experience occurred in one-on-one conversations beforehand and afterward, with my co-contributors and members of that audience.

Again and again, DEAR BULLY's message rang out: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. “You’ve found your tribe,” suggested in a previous post. I do believe I have.