The Writer

Hi I'm Robyn, daughter of your usual blogger. I'll be blogging on something very exciting and interesting that has happened in my life recently..........meeting Earl Hamner Jr!
For those of you who aren't familiar with the name I'll give you a quick summary of him. Earl Hamner Jr. is a writer, but what he is most famous for is the beloved show from the 70s "The Waltons". It was based on his life growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains during the Great Depression. The eldest boy "John-boy" was based on him and portrayed by Richard Thomas and toward the end of the series by Robert Wrightman. Earl has written books such as "Spencer's Mountain", "The Homecoming", and "You Can't Get There From Here". He wrote scripts for "The Twilight Zone" and "Falcon Crest" which he also created and co-produced. He has written various others scripts but that would take far too long to name them all!
Well back to my story! Daddy, Mama and I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains for the weekend. The first thing we did when we got there was visit this little country store that we visit every year. The man who owns the store is a close friend of the Hamner family(the basis for the characters of "The Waltons"). He told us that Earl was there sitting in the original house and that if we wanted to see him to just walk right in. Mama was too shy to just walk in so Daddy and I walked up to the porch and opened the door. At first we thought it was just family, so I started to walk away so I wouldn't appear nosey but before Daddy was going to close the door someone came to the door to greet us. I quickly apologized and told him I didn't want to intrude but he said we were welcome to come in and meet Earl. We stepped inside and walked into the kitchen where he was sitting on the same type of table they had on the show, a long wooden table with a long wooden bench on each side. He turned around and asked what my name was I said Robyn, of course and Daddy introduced himself. He was just like I thought he would be! Kind, charming, funny, and has hardly aged a bit! He signed my postcard I got in the store. His sister Audrey was there, she was the inspiration for Erin Walton. He said that I had her hair. She signed ,my postcard also! He talked about the time when he lived in Richmond. At that time he was attending Boatwright University(now known as University of Richmond) and living with his aunt. He was a member of St.Stephen's Church at that time. I even got my picture taken with him! Which is now my facebook profile picture.
And when I am older and am looking back on the things in my life that will be certainly one of the most thrilling experiences of my life! Earl Hamner Jr. is a person who will be remembered long after he's gone.