—Sr. Wayne…
—I hope I’m not interrupting.
The 12 students are frozen, staring. Several are speechless. A girl starts to cry. Not from sadness: from being overwhelmed.
Wayne enters. The room is tiny. One large room, 12 desks, a wood-burning stove in the corner, a blackboard, an American flag, and at the back, the projector mounted on a table, with 10 film canisters stacked beside it.
Did you receive everything I sent you?
Margaret cannot speak, she can only nod.
Wayne walks over to the projector and touches it.
—Have you been using it every Friday?
Margaret finally manages to say:
—The children eagerly await it all week.
Wayne turns to the students: 12 pairs of eyes fixed on him; some scared, some excited, all incredulous.
—I received your letter, from all of you. Thank you for what you wrote. It meant a lot.
A small voice from the front row:
—Did you read my sentence?
Wayne looks. A girl, maybe seven. Blonde braids. Sarah.
—Yes, I read it. You said I’m the bravest cowboy. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.
Sarah blushes. She smiles.
Wayne spends the next three hours with them: answering questions, signing autographs on notebook paper, telling stories about filming, showing them how to pull off a scene, how to fall without getting hurt, how to make a shootout look real. He asks them what they’ve learned from his movies.
They respond:
—Courage, honor, standing up for what is right, never giving up, helping those weaker than you.
Wayne listens. He really listens. These kids understand him. They grasped the lessons he was trying to put in every movie, even when he didn’t know that’s what he was doing.
Near the end of the afternoon, a boy raises his hand. Small, dark hair, serious face. Tommy, 8 years old.
—Sr. Wayne…
—Yes, son.
—Why did he help us? We are nobodies.
The room falls silent.
All the children were waiting for the answer. Margaret, by the door, with her hands clasped, was also waiting.
Wayne walks over to Tommy’s desk, kneels down, and gets down to Tommy’s eye level.
—Listen to me carefully. You’re nobody. Don’t ever say that again. You’re Americans. All of you. That means you matter. Every single one of you. It doesn’t matter if you live in Hollywood or Montana or anywhere else. You’re Americans. That’s everyone.
Tommy’s eyes well up with tears. He nods. He doesn’t trust his own voice.
Wayne stands up and looks at them all.
—And when they grow up, they’ll help the next generation of kids, the ones who think they’re nobody. They’ll show them they matter. That’s how America works. We lift each other up. Got it?
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