Breakthrough - Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation

Cornerstones
Member reflects on an ‘almost horrible’ talent show
by Anna Lennarston
OI Community Member
“It can’t be that bad,” I thought to
myself, even though I regretted ever
signing up for the talent show. “Tonight
would be one of the worst nights of my
life… maybe, ” I thought.
“Want to come see the dining hall
where you’ll play tonight?” questioned
my mom.
“Sure.”
Inside there were tons of shiny,
polished round tables, and a
humongous wooden stage. On the
stage was a shiny, black baby grand
piano.
“Wow. A baby grand piano! Is
this what I’m really going to play on
tonight?” I asked.
“Well, it’s the only one here, so…
yes!” my mother answered.
That night I put on my elegant,
silky dress for the show and joined my
mom in the dining hall. Looking around
the room, you could tell they had
certainly fancied things up since we
Web Spots
Useful or informative sites for the OI community
Accessable Travel Source
www.access-able.com
(Page 15)
Adam’s Mark Hotel, Dallas
www.adamsmark.com/dallas
(Page 13)
American Society of Travel Agents
www.astanet.com
(Page 12)
American Society for
Bone & Mineral Research
www.asbmr.org
(Page 9)
were there in the afternoon. There
was a blue-checkered tablecloth, a set
of sparkling silverware for every guest,
and two cream colored candles on
each table. Of course, at the front was
the gigantic stage (which now had
microphones, too) and the large,
dazzling piano.
When dinner was done the talent
show began. First was a girl singing
this really wacky song, then someone
tap-danced. After him, the announcer
called my name.
“Now, Anna Lennartson will play
‘Brave Night’ by Moritz Vogel.”
Walking up to the piano, my
flowered, blue dress shoes clicked on
the hard stage. Sticky, cold sweat
started running down my forehead. My
heart began to pound loudly in my
chest. Putting my hands on the black
and white keys, I realized they felt
clammy and frozen. I turned my head
and saw more than 400 pairs of
colorful, staring eyes looking at me and
waiting for me to play. In the large
The following organizations or services were featured in the pages of this newsletter:
MN Advisory Committee on
People with Disabilities
www.accessmaze.org
(Page 9)
National Brain Tumor Foundation
www.braintumor.org
(Page 19)
OI Clinic at Kennedy Kreiger
www.osteogenesisimperfecta.org
(Page 16)
Pinnacle Travel
www.pinnacletravel.com
(Page 14)
Direct links to these organizations can be found on www.oif.org.
crowd was my mom, and I knew that
she was waiting, too. As I began the
song my brain kept telling me NOT to
make a mistake… and I didn’t.
The song came out beautiful,
smooth and pleasant, just the way it
was supposed to. All of a sudden the
audience started clapping and cheering
wildly. There was my mom, smiling the
biggest. I smiled back at her, and at the
rest of the audience, feeling relieved as
ever. I had actually played the piano in
front of over 400 people!
Editors Note: Until we received
this submission, we had no idea how
nervous Anna was… she exuded
grace and performed flawlessly at
the 2002 National Conference
Talent Show. We look forward to an
“encore performance” from Anna at
the 2004 Conference in Dallas!
Invitations to participate in the
talent show will be included with
your Conference Registration
Confirmation Packets.
St. Louis Hospital’s Center for
Matabolic Bone Diseases and
Molecular Research
www.shrinershq.org/shc/stlouis/
mru.html
(Page 1)
VSA Playwright Discovery Awards
www.vsarts.org/programs
(Page 9)
Wheelchair Getaways
www.wheelchair-getaways.com
(Page 14)
Breakthrough Winter 2004 Page 18