Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
The Write Stuff
Aired November 29, 2002 - 09:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was a very special Thanksgiving for two young girls, thanks to their writing skills. Maggie O'Connor wrote an essay about Charlotte the Bear. Abigail Ardis wrote a story about a Broadway star bear. Their efforts won them trips to New York with their families, $1,000 savings bonds and a $100 shopping spree for both. Lucky girls. And also, front row seats at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, all courtesy of the Build a Bear Workshop.
And Maggie O'Connor and Abigail Ardis are here in person to tell us all about it.
Welcome. Are you having a lot of fun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
COSTELLO: They're kind of shy, but believe me, they were wild a few minutes ago. Your whole family back there is watching.
OK, let's start with you, Maggie, what is the best part about being here in New York City?
MAGGIE O'CONNOR, BUILD-A-BEAR ESSAY WINNER: I love the tall buildings and the shopping.
COSTELLO: The shopping.
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: Starting young, are you?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: What have you bought so far?
O'CONNOR: Well, I bought charms for my -- I have a charm bracelet at home, and we bought some at a gift shop. .
COSTELLO: That sounds awesome. How about you, Abigail?
ABIGAIL ARDIS, BUILD-A-BEAR ESSAY WINNER: I love all of the people. I'm from a small town, and you pretty much know everybody, and here, you don't see the same person twice.
COSTELLO: No you don't. Have you gone shopping yet with your winnings?
ARDIS: Not with my winnings -- with the $200, that was for Thanksgiving dinner.
COSTELLO: For Thanksgiving dinner? You bought your whole family Thanksgiving dinner here in New York?
ARDIS: Yes.
COSTELLO: You guys are lucky, lucky people. Tell me about your essays. I've read your stories. You had to write a story about a teddy bear, you had to be very creative. There were 2,000 entries in this contest, and you each won in your age category.
So, Maggie, let's start with you and Charlotte the Bear. What was the inspiration for Charlotte the Bear?
O'CONNOR: Usually, when I write, I don't get my ideas from anything in particular. But I do have a bear at home named Charlotte and...
COSTELLO: And what's the moral of your story?
O'CONNOR: That if something is missing, usually it's love. You need that.
COSTELLO: I'm going to cry. Abigail, you kind of have the same message in your story, although your story sort of takes place on Broadway, which was clever for a New York contest.
ARDIS: I love Broadway, and I've always liked doing plays, and I love being the big stage and performing in a bunch -- for a bunch of people, and I was inspired because I was in "Annie" about three years ago, and I was Molly, and I had a bear for a prop, so that's what inspired me.
COSTELLO: So it came from a real life story? We should tell people how old you guys are. You're 11.
O'CONNOR: Yes.
ARDIS: And I'm 13.
COSTELLO: But when you wrote the essay, you were 12.
ARDIS: No.
COSTELLO: See, I'm wrong. OK, so I take it back. You got front row seats to the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Did you freeze?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
ARDIS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Was it worth it?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
ARDIS: Yes. COSTELLO: What with your favorite float Maggie?
O'CONNOR: I have to say I really like the Build a Bear float.
COSTELLO: She is a born politician. That was the contest. What was the Build a Bear float? I bet it was a teddy bear.
O'CONNOR: Yes. There were a couple of teddy bears, and we knew them both, and they waved to us when they passed by.
COSTELLO: So they knew you from the whole crowd of people?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: They knew where you were sitting because you had front row seats?
O'CONNOR: Yes, Well, we knew them. They were with us when we toured the city.
COSTELLO: The big bears were with you when you toured the city?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: What was that like, Abigail, walking through the streets of New York with two huge stuffed bears?
ARDIS: It was definitely different. We were walking, and they'd stop and people would be taking pictures, and they'd be taking pictures of us, and we wouldn't know them, and the wouldn't know us, and then they'd wait in line, and it would be like, wow.
COSTELLO: So you were like celebrities?
ARDIS: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, we have to talk about something important now. Tell other kids out there why it's so important to be a good writer, Maggie.
O'CONNOR: It's seeing the world from a different view. You describe things and you have -- it really brings pictures into your mind.
COSTELLO: Yes, you can really use your imagination, can't you?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: Is that what you did, too, even though your story was based on real life?
ARDIS: Yes. When I write, I can write what I think and not what someone else thinks. It's my imagination and not anybody else's, so if I want to make pigs to fly, I can make them fly and not listen to somebody else's story.
COSTELLO: And much better than doing those computer games, right? Yes?
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Abigail and Maggie, thank you very much for coming in this morning. We sure appreciate it, and congratulations and have fun on the rest of your journey through New York City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 29, 2002 - 09:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was a very special Thanksgiving for two young girls, thanks to their writing skills. Maggie O'Connor wrote an essay about Charlotte the Bear. Abigail Ardis wrote a story about a Broadway star bear. Their efforts won them trips to New York with their families, $1,000 savings bonds and a $100 shopping spree for both. Lucky girls. And also, front row seats at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, all courtesy of the Build a Bear Workshop.
And Maggie O'Connor and Abigail Ardis are here in person to tell us all about it.
Welcome. Are you having a lot of fun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
COSTELLO: They're kind of shy, but believe me, they were wild a few minutes ago. Your whole family back there is watching.
OK, let's start with you, Maggie, what is the best part about being here in New York City?
MAGGIE O'CONNOR, BUILD-A-BEAR ESSAY WINNER: I love the tall buildings and the shopping.
COSTELLO: The shopping.
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: Starting young, are you?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: What have you bought so far?
O'CONNOR: Well, I bought charms for my -- I have a charm bracelet at home, and we bought some at a gift shop. .
COSTELLO: That sounds awesome. How about you, Abigail?
ABIGAIL ARDIS, BUILD-A-BEAR ESSAY WINNER: I love all of the people. I'm from a small town, and you pretty much know everybody, and here, you don't see the same person twice.
COSTELLO: No you don't. Have you gone shopping yet with your winnings?
ARDIS: Not with my winnings -- with the $200, that was for Thanksgiving dinner.
COSTELLO: For Thanksgiving dinner? You bought your whole family Thanksgiving dinner here in New York?
ARDIS: Yes.
COSTELLO: You guys are lucky, lucky people. Tell me about your essays. I've read your stories. You had to write a story about a teddy bear, you had to be very creative. There were 2,000 entries in this contest, and you each won in your age category.
So, Maggie, let's start with you and Charlotte the Bear. What was the inspiration for Charlotte the Bear?
O'CONNOR: Usually, when I write, I don't get my ideas from anything in particular. But I do have a bear at home named Charlotte and...
COSTELLO: And what's the moral of your story?
O'CONNOR: That if something is missing, usually it's love. You need that.
COSTELLO: I'm going to cry. Abigail, you kind of have the same message in your story, although your story sort of takes place on Broadway, which was clever for a New York contest.
ARDIS: I love Broadway, and I've always liked doing plays, and I love being the big stage and performing in a bunch -- for a bunch of people, and I was inspired because I was in "Annie" about three years ago, and I was Molly, and I had a bear for a prop, so that's what inspired me.
COSTELLO: So it came from a real life story? We should tell people how old you guys are. You're 11.
O'CONNOR: Yes.
ARDIS: And I'm 13.
COSTELLO: But when you wrote the essay, you were 12.
ARDIS: No.
COSTELLO: See, I'm wrong. OK, so I take it back. You got front row seats to the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Did you freeze?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
ARDIS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Was it worth it?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
ARDIS: Yes. COSTELLO: What with your favorite float Maggie?
O'CONNOR: I have to say I really like the Build a Bear float.
COSTELLO: She is a born politician. That was the contest. What was the Build a Bear float? I bet it was a teddy bear.
O'CONNOR: Yes. There were a couple of teddy bears, and we knew them both, and they waved to us when they passed by.
COSTELLO: So they knew you from the whole crowd of people?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: They knew where you were sitting because you had front row seats?
O'CONNOR: Yes, Well, we knew them. They were with us when we toured the city.
COSTELLO: The big bears were with you when you toured the city?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: What was that like, Abigail, walking through the streets of New York with two huge stuffed bears?
ARDIS: It was definitely different. We were walking, and they'd stop and people would be taking pictures, and they'd be taking pictures of us, and we wouldn't know them, and the wouldn't know us, and then they'd wait in line, and it would be like, wow.
COSTELLO: So you were like celebrities?
ARDIS: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, we have to talk about something important now. Tell other kids out there why it's so important to be a good writer, Maggie.
O'CONNOR: It's seeing the world from a different view. You describe things and you have -- it really brings pictures into your mind.
COSTELLO: Yes, you can really use your imagination, can't you?
O'CONNOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: Is that what you did, too, even though your story was based on real life?
ARDIS: Yes. When I write, I can write what I think and not what someone else thinks. It's my imagination and not anybody else's, so if I want to make pigs to fly, I can make them fly and not listen to somebody else's story.
COSTELLO: And much better than doing those computer games, right? Yes?
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Abigail and Maggie, thank you very much for coming in this morning. We sure appreciate it, and congratulations and have fun on the rest of your journey through New York City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
