There she is . . .

Having a special person competing in the Miss America pageant has involved me in all kinds of unusual activities. Case in point: reality TV. This is perhaps my least favorite form of entertainment in the world (watching court and medical show TV dramas come close). But I watched Miss America: Reality Check faithfully for the past four weeks in support of Hannah Kiefer, Miss Virginia. Hannah's sunny personality, playful self-effacement and selflessness shone through. The show and the so-called "experts" were exactly what I thought they would be: contrived, way too self-important and eager to catch the contestants in an awkward light. Too bad. Those young women did very, very well for themselves in a surreal environment.

Yes, Hannah was "judged" to be one of the top ten "best." No, she wasn't one of the final three. And yes, her gleeful embrace of one of the "winners" was genuine and heart-felt. That's Hannah.

If you think Hannah is lovely, you ought to see her mom and dad. They're GORGEOUS. And just as special.

Tonight as Miss America goes through her paces and gets crowned, I'll be watching. And knitting, to relieve the tension.