I’ve been a regular contributor to American Spirit, the magazine of the Daughters of the American Revolution, for nearly 20 years. One of my longest standing assignments (as in, first right of refusal and I never refuse) is a profile that appears in each issue of this bimonthly magazine. For the March/April 2023 issue, I had the pleasure of speaking to Kitty Slattery, who is a fellow writer whose career also has spanned decades and whose repertoire also includes inspirational books. (I’m not there yet.)
She was a delight to talk to. Among her “claims to fame” was interviewing Fred Rogers (that’s Mr. Rogers to the rest of us) when she was a young contributor to Guideposts magazine. She didn’t realize it at the time, but she got the inside scoop/backstory on Mr. Rogers’ famous closing line in his children’s program, “I like you just the way you are.” Read my article to discover its true meaning.
Another piece I wrote for the issue (although I can’t link to it here—you’ll just have to take my word for it) was a profile on Ishmael Coffee, a lesser-known Patriot in the American Revolution who was born a slave and emerged from the war a free man.