Cheers to the chipper folk on Ireland AM for bringing this story from the Independent to my attention - it's got the fuzzy factor we like of a morning. Shame Anna's answer to Mark Cagney's question "Did you ever write a fan letter to anyone when you were younger" involved Jimmy Savile. Kind of sullied the segment somewhat and - would you lookit - I've after doing the same thing, my apologies.
This here is 11-year-old Elijah Odigie, he's a bit of a Will Smith fan, so much so he decided to write to the actor and - lo and behold - he actually got a response. Impressive, particularly at this busy time of year. Put it this way, a number of his classmates - as suggested by one of their teachers, Andre O'Connell - also wrote to famous sorts and Elijah is the only person to get a response to date.
In the letter, Smith wrote: "I always say 'if something I do can make someone's day better, then I've done a good job!'...Keep chasing those dreams and make the most of every day."
Elijah's teacher, Mr. O'Connell said: "I was talking to the students about people we admire and we decided we would write to them... most were Hollywood stars."
It's gas how a statement like that would've caused marginal alarm amongst parents/adults in general a number of years ago - "you admire Hollywood stars? What about the local doctor or fireman?!!" Nowadays, it's a comfort that they're Hollywood sorts children look up to, and not the muppets off Made in Chelsea or the likes of Katie Price.
