Earlier today I received a phone call from a lady who wanted
to thank me for writing for the newspapers. She was a former English Teacher so
it was doubly special for me to hear from her. I know for a fact that my
English would never win much recognition but I’m glad it met hers and I’m glad
to have her endorsement. I love to take compliments and turn them into
something positive and today I am here to tell you that the overwhelming amount
of people I meet, are the reason I have so much to write about, and my world is
so great. These are people who get up each day, to do their part, to make this
nation better for all of us and they never get enough credit. This morning this
lady told me “she doesn’t say thank you enough” and I’m here to tell you
“neither do I,” so----to all of my readers, you don’t know how much it helps a
writer, to be a better writer, when you hear positive things, so thank you so
very much for your support.
I need to share my credits with a few other people. Glenda
Berndt who helps me out with my writing. My English teacher from a half a
century ago who said simply—“Write Mike.” and good things will happen. The
Northland Press for giving me a venue to write in. Pat, for keeping me in a
good frame of mind and all of you readers who have wrote to me or simply talked
to me in passing. Also, it helps to be living in this lake country we live in,
where Mother Nature and the good Lord above have blessed us all so much and so
often. Writing comes from inspiration and I’m inspired each time I walk out my
back door. I have on many occasions met and continue to meet people who inspire
me and I have also read much that has motivated me to write better. I think
when you sit down to your keyboard and start to compose something; you are always
drawn to subjects that have been written about over and over again. There is
little new news in this world that hasn’t been done before but there are lots
of old stories that need to be written about again. The trick is to write it in
a new light and to write about things people want to hear.
I was blessed to travel to Hannibal Missouri over Labor Day.
I say blessed because at least in my mind, if I had to lay claim to a writing
mentor it would have been Mark Twain. His books are just a soliloquy of life
itself, as seen through Twains eyes. Told as only he could tell them because he
was the one who had actually lived them. But it’s about something much deeper
then his books, as it also applies to his many, quips, quotes and observations
of life around him too. He seemed to be always filled with quick wit and an
uncanny way of expressing himself. At least in my mind there has been no equal
to Mark Twain for all around writing. While in Hannibal, Pat and I took a ride
down the old muddy on a riverboat and I couldn’t help but feel the presence of
Twain-- or at least his literary creations, Tom and Huck, on every sandbar and
Island we passed. I think every red blooded American boy at some point, feels
some of the adventurous energy that Tom and Huck had and so many of us have
also had a Becky Thatcher in our lives. I think every writer worth his salt has
found something that Mark Twain said, and wished they had coined it instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment