CHAPTER 35

It was finally the day for us to give our speeches in front of the class so that Miss Beany could choose who got to present during the pageant.

Since two of Berta’s favorite things are being the center of attention and talking, Ricky and I agreed with her that she’d be the best one to give our speech.

It took a long time to put the right words into our poem, but I think we did it.

I know without a doubt the poem we came up with wasn’t near as perfect as one of Charlotte’s, but I thought she’d be proud she inspired it.

The first group to present gave a speech about doing our part with war rations and victory gardens—the gardens President Roosevelt, may he rest in peace, asked everyone in the country to plant. It was a pretty good speech, and so was the next one about a day in the life of a soldier in the war.

When our turn came, the three of us stood up in the front of the classroom—but Ricky and I stood off to the side holding the collection of wartime pictures we’d cut and pasted from Life magazine. I looked over at the lonely row of desks where I’d sat when Miss Beany wasn’t 100 percent sure I wasn’t gonna give the whole class polio. Hard to believe how long ago that was. And that made me sad, thinking how long ago it was since Charlotte was here.

I shook my head, trying to shoo away those gloomy thoughts, and tried to focus instead on Berta giving our speech.

“Our late president Franklin Roosevelt in his first inaugural speech said, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ But what is fear, and how does someone overcome their fear and become a hero?”

I dang near memorized that speech myself, but standing beside her, listening to her recite it to our class, I got goose bumps.

After talking about soldiers and everyday heroes of the war, she recited the poem we wrote.

There are heroes all around us,

especially in a time of war.

Some fight on the battlefield,

and some run the local store.

Heroes come in different shapes:

some are women, some are men.

Some fight for life in a hospital

so they can come home again.

There are heroes all around us

and within us all—it’s true.

Because the power to be brave

also lives in me and you.

Had to admit that might have been the best speech ever.

Miss Beany liked it too. And Ricky, Berta, and I were all kind of tickled when everyone clapped for a long time.

At the end of the day, Miss Beany announced that our speech was chosen to be given during the pageant.

We squealed and hugged each other.

“That really was good.” I smiled, feeling pride swelling inside me.

Ricky touched Berta on the shoulder. “You have such a good memory,” he said.

And she did—she remembered every single word of our speech and poem without any papers to look off of.

Berta smiled. “I know! Daddy says I’m like an elephant—I never forget anything.”

I wanted to add she also never forgets to compliment herself, but I swallowed that thought as we were enjoying the good feeling of our accomplishment.