after that, and to think about this man from new hampshire being in that sort of place in that intersection and national politics is really quite an amazing thing. but as this it really the story of lou d'allesandro is his development as a young boy and sort of carrying forward the ideals of the mother who really cared about the people around her who left us far too young, and sort of, you know, i know one of the most emotional things we talked about in the research of this book was him reflecting back on what she would think after all these years of what he has accomplished in his life. so without any further ado, and i would like to introduce my dear friend and the subject of the book, lou d'allesandro. [applause] >> thank you, mark. it's always tough to live up to introductions, but let me tell you the course of one's life,