Integrity

"Can we have a sticker please?" the little girl asked for herself and her little brother.

"If you tell me that I have a pretty singing voice and that I've got a shot at being on American Idol, you can have some stickers," Eric replied, bending down more than a little to try and have the conversation at eye level.

The girl continued looking up at Eric, not saying anything.

"All you have to do is tell me that you think I can make it on American Idol. Say 'yes' and you can have some stickers. Do you think that I can be on American Idol?"

The girl thought about it, her little brother looking up at her--unaware that the fate of his stickers rested in her answer.

"No," she said.

"What?!"

"No. Can we have some stickers, please?"

"Well, I'll tell you what. Cause you were honest, and you said 'please'... here's some stickers." Eric unrolled the stickers as he tried to show mock disappointment and rejection spurred on by the 6 year old's brutal and unflinching honesty.

He turned to the mom and, with a huge smile and a twinkle in his eyes, quipped, "Well, there goes my dreams and hopes," holding out his hand with fingers extended, "CRUSHED!!! Oh! What will I do now?!" His eyes focused on his clenched fist, the imaginary fragments of his former life slipping between his closed fingers.

"Well, he asked me if he could be an Idol, and I said 'no'," the girl protested.