Mattie Knight wasn't like most girls her age. She explained, "I never cared for things that girls usually do. Dolls never had any charms for me. I couldn't see the sense of coddling bits of porcelain with senseless faces. I was fascinated with jackknives, wood, and tools." Mattie, who was called a tomboy, built sleds and kites for her brothers when they were young.

After Mattie's father died, it wasn't long before the family had financial problems. 10-year-old Mattie, like many other children at that time, went to work for Amoskeag Mills, a gigantic cotton factory in Manchester, New Hampshire. She worked along side her brothers 13 hours a day to help support her family.

One day while she was 12, Mattie witnesssed a young mill worker get stabbed by a sharp steel-tipped shuttle that broke off a loom. The boy later died from the injury, which greatly upset Mattie. She knew that the most important thing she had to do was invent a safety device that would prevent similar accidents. Although many men had failed trying to invent such a gadget, Mattie was determined to create it. She spent days drawing sketches and building models. She finally invented a simple stop-motion safety device that held the shuttle in place and shut down the machine when it malfunctioned. That device soon became a standard part on all cotton looms and changed weaving forever. Mattie never received one penny for her invention, but she was please it would save valuable lives.

At age 30, in 1868, Mattie worked at the Columbia Paper Bag Company in Sprinfield, Massachusetts. It manufactured commonly used narrow envelope-type paper bags. These flimsy V-shaped bags were made by machine, but flat-bottom bags had to be made by hand, which was time-consuming and very expensive. Each day Mattie studied the machines, and each evening, in her boarding house room, she worked on her designs for a machine to make the more useful bag. Thousands of trials later, Mattie successfully invented a machine attachment that, doing the work of 30 people, could cut, fold, and glue flat-bottom paper bags. She then hired a skilled machinist to build an iron version of her invention which she needed to submit with her patent application.

During that time, Charles Annan studied Mattie's invention and attempted to patent a similar machine, claiming that a woman couldn't have the sense to understand such mechanical complexities. Fortunately, due to Mattie's testimony, careful diary entries, samples, and knowledge, the court ruled in her favor. In 1870, Mattie Knight became the first woman to be awarded a U. S. patent.

Mattie created over 90 inventions and patented 27. These included heavy, industrial machinery as well as a numbering machine, a window frame and sash, shoe manufacturing machines, and a rotary engine device.

Mattie never married and died at age 76 on October 12, 1914, with only $275.05 worth of assets. The home she rented, The Curry House, at 287 Hollis Street, Framingham, Massachussetts, named after it owner, John Curry, still stands today. Her workshop at 110 High Street in Boston has become a landmark. Mattie's paper bag machine is now owned by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C., and her formal portrait hangs in the U. S. patent office in Washington, D.C.

Phil, an accomplished rider, works out on his board 2-3 hours a day and competes along the east coast. He had the opportunity to skate and make friends with Tony Hawk and Geoff Rowley, two of the greatest legends in skateboarding and says, "I learned that they are just people, too."

Phil also works to establish an area in his town "where kids can skateboard, because there are no places where skateboarders are allowed," he says. "There's a prejudice against the sport."

"Ever since Flip's been boarding, his school grades have improved," reveals Phil's dad.

"My question was short and direct but not simple," Kalman says. "I asked, 'If you could give me advice for life, what would it be?'" He explains, "At first, I just wrote to famous athletes and celebrities. Then I pulled people from the newspapers and eventually many behind the scenes, like college presidents and Nobel laureates. These people got to where they are for a reason, and I wanted to know their secrets. I was looking for guidance for myself as I began to think about the future."

Kalman's dad helped research needed addresses by using the Internet and library books, especially Who's Who. Both parents helped pay for stationery, postage, and plastic sleeves in which to preserve each reply.

Responses began to pour in; the first came from actor Alec Baldwin who starred in The Shadow. Kalman was shocked that "someone actually cared to impart his advice - even to a young, faceless kid on the other side of the continent...It whet my appetite to write to more people." For the next three years, Kalman wrote and mailed over 3,000 letters. Some were returned due to incorrect addresses. Many people didn't respond at all, but many did. Some provided simple one liners. "Spread the sunshine." "Follow your heart!" "If at first you don't succeed, try it the way your mother told you." Others sent several pages of advice. Kalman says, "The most common answer to my question was to stay in school, get a good education, and work hard...More than anything, there is a personal goodness imparted in the letters I received, and that makes the world seem much smaller and friendlier, which is as meaningful as any advice I received."

By age 15, Kalman accumulated nearly 300 replies and decided to compile the words of wisdom into a book. He then wrote a second letter to obtain consent forms to publish the replies. Some people selected not to grant such permission. Others were more obliging.

With help from is parents, Kalman located a literary agent. In 1999, when Kalman was 17, Quill, a division of William Morrow and Company, published his collection of reply letters in the book Dear Kalman: Smart, Peculiar, and Outrageous Advice for Life From Famous People to a Kid.

The book sold thousands of copies in the first week. Kalman did book signings and was interviewed on such TV programs as The Rosie O'Donnell Show, News 12 and Good Day New York. He answered all their questions. Kalman clearly knows the value of asking the right questions and the importance of persistence in getting an answer.

He's performed at the Grand Ole Opry and at the Academy of Country Music Awards, where he earned a standing ovation. He admits that he was so nervous, "I was sweating bullets." Billy's appeared on The Donnie and Marie Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Oprah, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, and Seventh Heaven. He released his Christmas album in 2000 and "Dare to Dream" in 2001.

"My parents always listened to country music when I was growing up," Billy explained. His favorite singers were George Jones, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, and Tammy Wynette.

At age 3, Billy set his goal. "The first time I knew I wanted to be a singer was when I heard the song, 'Queen of Denial' by Pam Tillis. It was just so rocking."

At age 5, Billy's grandmother, Ginger, brought him to Angela Bacari for vocal help and advice. Angela worked with him for 2 years, became his co-manager, and secured his opening spots for shows by noted performers. Through a friend of hers, Angela sent Billy's taped performance to Ray Benson, leader of the Texas swing band Asleep at the Wheel. Benson recorded Billy's demo and introduced him to manager Scott Siman, and Sony Music Nashville. The rest is history, as they say.

"My parents helped me a lot," Billy explains. "They have given me the confidence I need," but they're not stage parents. "My parents aren't pushing me. My mom says to me all the time, 'Now, Billy, do you still want to do this? We can stop right now.' I'm the pushy one. I want to do this."

Billy insists that he isn't worried about the onset of puberty. "With the proper training," he explains, "I will still be able to hit the high notes."

Billy, donates his time and talent to various children's charities and has done a benefit concert for the Sunburst Projects: Children Living with AIDS.