Meet George Washington Young, from Suddenly Rural Girl

Dakota Moore is a conflicted teen wrestling with faith and friendship, and each new person she meets brings a new adventure.

Mr. Young stepped toward me and extended his hands. I leaned my face forward, and his shaky fingers gently found my chin and cheek bones. He lightly traced the edges of my face, seeing by touch the face of a nearly 14-year-old he’d recently come to care for. George Washington Young was old, blind, and a pocketful of kindness. He was the kind of treasure you didn’t know you needed but can’t imagine living without. And it was all wrapped up in a pair of faded overalls and a smile.

He also offers wisdom that comes from age and experience:

“Some folks didn’t like them Bashkir Curly’s on account of how they look a little different,” Mr. Young answered. “Let’s keep prayin’ folks quit judgin’ things by how they look.”

And a friendship can be made that span roads and generations.

He pulled his hands away, and his eyes showed more kindness than I’ve seen in most folks with perfect vision…Mr. Young and I were two people separated by a gravel road and eighty years, and I could have at least told him how much a lost and lonely girl from Michigan appreciated his kindness, his unlikely friendship.

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Published by Hurlbert

Dann is an educator, Media & Design Guru, Author, and Public Speaker. He currently serves as Media and Design Specialist at an impressive little Midwestern College where he works directly with faculty to develop effective instructional videos. He has an MFA in Digital Cinema from California's National University, a BSED in English and Theatre Education from the University of South Dakota, and a certificate in Online Education from UW Stout. He was founder and principle owner of Little Prompter, LLC, a teleprompter design and manufacturing company until he sold the company in 2020. Prior to joining Carleton's staff, he taught communication, theatre, and video production for approximately 15 years while working as a professional actor and director--appearing in over forty national and regional commercials and directing and editing dozens of videos and musicals. Dann’s MFA thesis project involved writing and directing an original, full-length musical, filming the entire development and production process, and editing it into an educational DVD entitled How to Write and Produce Your Own High School Musical. His DVD is currently being distributed by Films Media Group. His debut YA Christian Fiction novel, Suddenly Rural Girl, is published through Kirk House Publishing.

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