Greg Mortenson

Tuesday evening I went to a presentation at the Shakespeare Theater near China Town by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones to Schools.  He is not a polished speaker, but he is so passionate about what he does, that his sometimes awkwardness only makes him more real and endearing.

If you look carefully at the subtitle, it says "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time".  Mr. Mortenson told us that the publishing company originally insisted that it say, "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism, One School at a Time", because it would sell more books.  After the first year of no book sales, Mr. Mortenson was able to get it changed to the current title and it has been a best seller for almost ten years.  

Here are a few quotes I was able to get from his talk.

• One cup of tea and you are a stranger.  Two cups of tea and you are a friend.  Three cups of tea and you are family.

• When it is dark is when you can see the stars.

• Educate a boy and you educate an individual.  Educate a girl and you educate a community.

• There is no military solution to Afghanistan.

• Even if the world ends tomorrow, I will plant my seed today.