i'm also pleased to welcome kate damon here this evening. kate's business is called k's and it's a graphic design business but it's gotten involved in arranging for the speakers. in this case john lewis to be with us this evening and we are grateful to her. you might recognize her name. she grew up in charlottesville and her mother has something to do with this book festival. [applause] so first, mark. [applause] >> good evening everyone. thanks. thanks for those really nice introductory comments. well, if you haven't seen the picture photo i'm going to remind you of it. [applause] they say that a picture tells a thousand words and in the case of one at tonight's scheduled -- special guests it speaks to us in so many different levels. it's the 13-year-old sports night back in new jersey in 1968 i had several iconic sports photos on my bedroom walls and on my desk. willie mays, the catch, jackie robinson rounding third base screeching in his cleats in his brooklyn dodgers uniform on heading home. cassius clay standing defiantly over a defeated