Gordon Selman found me head in hands, needing some cheering up. He talked about the sense of community that literacy workers share. He agreed with Marnies "drop by drop" philosophy and pointed out that even when we are discouraged we need to "go on in hope", remembering the importance of our work. Often referred to as a "pioneer of adult education", Gordon said, with experience, "I, too, have found some delegates to be profoundly discouraged by what we have so far managed to achieve, when the scale of the challenge is so huge. But this Literacy Conference is a deeply impressive manifestation of what is going on in this under financed, under supported, largely unheralded but vibrant field of educational activity."

Pat Fahy, who has also been involved in adult education for many years, had come into the room earlier and now joined in our conversation. He agreed with Gordon. "It's still a new field, Deborah; we have miles to go before we sleep."

"I guess I have a lot to learn from you old guys, eh?" Pat threw a book at me and I realized I was feeling better.

I left Pat and Gordon and was about to go up the escalator to return to the hotel, when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw MARNEE KARL from Sherwood Park waving at me to wait a minute. When she caught up to me, she smiled and handed me an envelope with my name on it. I asked what was in it but she told me just to open it. Right away I saw the CBC logo on the stationary. It was a copy of the letter Peter Gzowski had written in response to Howard's letter. "Howard wanted you to see this," she said with anticipation.

I read the words out loud. "Dear Howard: Your letter did reach me through a long and complicated route, and I was thrilled to get it." I smiled at Marnee and read on. "Sometimes some of the things I do - even the golf, which is mostly fun - seems like a lot of trouble, but when I hear a story like yours, I realize how lucky I am. If my work has had any effect on your life, it's all worth it." Peter went on to congratulate Howard on his hard work and to wish him the best in all his continued efforts.

Drop by drop ...

Vickii Williams, a member of the Conference Committee, edited a daily Conference Newsletter that was circulated to the delegates each morning of the Conference. Friday morning, I read with interest a piece that Cordon Selman must have worked on the night before. He had obviously thought more about our earlier conversation. He talked about thc anger that people were feeling about "the relative lack of response from governments - and beyond that, from society as a whole." He pointed out that anger can be a good place from which to start.

"Anger can be a two-edged sword," he wrote. "It can be negative and corrosive or it can stir us to constructive action. For most of us, it is somewhere in the background, perhaps deliberately kept there as we build a more positive approach to our field of activity. Most of us find it easier to live that way."

He concluded his article by talking about how even as we deal with our own anger and the anger of the people we work with, the privilege and pleasure of working with others provides us with a balance that makes our work worthwhile. "More positive values, built on mutual respect and the sharing of mutual journeys, are mercifully also our constant companions."