Meet my friend Harry

Great fiction can be truly magical. It can sweep you away into another world and time. You get lost in the story and characters come to life. You can't put it down, you think about it all day and talk about it to anyone who will listen. It's a treasure full of unexpected rewards. I love a good book, but the best of them all, hands down, 100% is Harry Potter.

I was introduced to this young boy back before the hysteria, before the movies and games, before he was household name, before anyone really knew who J. K. Rowling was. The year was 1999 and I went to the mall with my Mom and two younger brothers. We went into B. Dalton books in the University Mall in search of something new for Kurt and Rhett to read.

Good fortune was with us that day as the salesman was a fellow from the UK. Not the UK I am well familiar with, but from the United Kingdom. We inquired about new children's literature and he walked us over to a shelf and picked up a book with a fantastic (that's a great Harry word) cover- a boy, an owl and a broom. What was this all about? He told us he had recently read the book in Britain and loved it. It had only just been printed in the US for a short time. He said it was about a young boy who finds out he is really a wizard and goes to a wizard school. Sounded good enough to try, so we bought the book, but only one copy. My Mom read it out loud to my brothers first and I would call and ask how the wizard book was going. Soon they finished and it was my turn. What do you say except I was hooked. I told everyone one at work about this amazing book I was reading. I scribbled down "Harry Potter/ J.K. Rowling" on a piece of paper for the X-ray tech so he could buy the book for his kids. I was in love with Harry even before I had little ones of my own. I told Rich I was going to read this book to our children. It was that great. I bought a Beanie Baby dragon for myself and one for Kurt and Rhett and I named them Norbert. The week after I finished Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone the second book Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets was published. My family was on a trip, so I bought a copy for myself and one for them and surprised them with it when they returned.

Soon the world discovered what I already knew. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Neville, Snape, Voldemort and Dumbledore were unforgettable. They took the world by storm. They started a revolution of new readers. From young to old, they read and read.

Now we are just days away from the end. Eight years since I opened the first cover. I am excited and scared. I don't know what I'll do if these people I love don't make it to the final page. What if Harry dies? I will be crushed. I cried like a baby when Dumbledore was killed. It was just too much and very unexpected. I hope I will not find the same in the end. I know good will conquer evil, it always does, but it does require sacrifice; in real life and in ficiton.

So here's to you Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the bunch. Thanks for years of happiness. You have made long car rides bearable, months of best rest more enjoyable and hours on the bike possible. You are my friends, my children and I love you and I hope in the end you all find the happiness and peace we all desire.