Five years ago this week, I walked into
the offices of the Portage Daily Graphic for an appointment with then-editor,
Elisha Dacey. Mustering my bravest, most confident façade, I asked her for a
regular column and gave her three samples of the type of pieces I had in mind.
She gave me a contract on the spot and I walked home with a goofy smile on my
face and fear in my heart. But I haven’t missed a deadline yet.
In honor of this monumental anniversary,
I thought I’d offer a gift. But first, a few highlights from the last five
years.
Funniest
comment from a reader
Part of the fun of writing a column is
meeting readers in the community. I met one such woman at the voting polls one
year. When I told her my name, she told me she reads my column. “I thought you
were shorter,” she said.
I assured her I would try to sound taller
in the future.
Most
common assumption
Readers often assume I work at the
Graphic headquarters. After my initial interview, I did not actually step into
their offices again until the paper celebrated its 120th birthday in its newly remodeled facility this past June. My columns are emailed from home each week.
During the past five years, I’ve managed to burn through five or six editors
without having met most of them face to face!
Mistaken
identity
My sister Shanon often gets mistaken for
me by readers who recognize her from my photo in the paper, leading me to
believe she looks more like me than I do. The icing on the cake came the day a
reader approached me and said, “So I was reading your sister’s column the other
day…”
Worst
accusation
I can’t say I’ve received much in the
way of negative criticism, which can only mean either nobody’s reading or I’m
not writing anything controversial enough. One reader, however, called me
“afraid of Science” after I expressed concern over children being taught the
theory of evolution as fact.
Greatest
challenge
The hardest thing about column-writing
is coming up with a topic each week. It only gets harder as time goes by and
you’ve already covered everything you care to cover. I really respect my fellow
columnists who stay within a theme, the way all proper columnists should. Mine
are all over the place and still I rack my brain! My best attempt at nailing
down a theme was “Faith and Humour.” I hope each piece includes one or the
other—and sometimes both. For the next five years, I’m open to suggestions!
Quitting
I quit this column nearly every week —in
my mind. “Enough already,” I tell myself. “Nobody’s reading, why are you
bothering with this drivel? You’re trying to be Dave Barry, Ann Voskamp, and
Max Lucado all rolled into one and it’s never going to happen. After this
column, let’s call it finished.”
But, like a bad habit, the next week
finds me pecking away at the keyboard again.
Greatest
reward
On those occasions when a reader takes
the time to share a word of appreciation for a column that encouraged them on
their faith journey or made them chuckle, you can bet I cherish their words and
save them forever.
A
gift for you
Here’s your chance to win your choice of
a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. O
Canada! was published in 2010 and Inspiration
for Nurses in 2015. As well as 100 stories by other contributors, each book
contains a story that originated right here in my column. If you’d like to win
a free signed copy, email me at terriejtodd@gmail.com by Sunday, September 27 at 3:00 pm
with the words “Book Draw” in the subject line. If your name is drawn, I will
contact you, ask which book you prefer, and see that you receive it.