Philadelphia Girl Doesn't Let Anything Stop Her From Getting Photo With Hillary Clinton
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A determined 10-year-old Philadelphia girl didn't let anything stop her from getting a coveted photo with Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally Friday.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. To hear Harper Leary of Northern Liberties tell it, her picture with Hillary Clinton tells the story of a photo that almost wasn't.
"I was very, very nervous that we weren't going to get it," Harper said. "I knew that my mom was right, that the chances of me meeting her or even getting a picture were very slim."
Picture a crowd of hundreds inside Temple's McGonigle Hall on Friday, pushing to get a glimpse of the woman who could become the first female president of the United States.
Harper and her mom Marion Leary were all the way in the back, in the very last row of seats. As the rally ended, Harper saw her chance.
"I decided that if she was going to be shaking people's hands that would be my best shot to go to her," she said. "I started running down the steps and my mom was like, 'What are you doing?' and then I was like, 'I have no idea.'"
With grit, determination and a little elbowing, the tiny girl made it within earshot of the presidential candidate.
"She turned around and started walking towards us and I started to freak out," she said.
After a hug, Harper asked Hillary Clinton for a photo. Mom was ready, but in that exact moment, her phone had stopped working. Then help came from an unexpected place.
"A Secret Service, who we guess was a Secret Service person, walked up and said, 'Oh you can use my phone and I'll just send it to you later,' and we used his phone," she said.
The story doesn't end there. When the Learys never received the photo, mom Marion took to Facebook and Twitter for help.
"It got a lot of shares and retweets and a lot of people saw it," she said.
The Hillary for PA campaign also saw it and two days later, Marion received the now famous snap.
"I was determined, seeing how determined Harper was to get the picture with Hillary, there was no way I was not going to get the picture for her," she said.
It reminds you of something else they also say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
"We're a strong family of women and Hillary is a strong woman, who we're supporting," Marion said.
"It definitely runs in the family," added Harper.
