Recently I was requested to write an article of a much different nature.
A close friend of mine passed away and his widow requested that certain people take care of arrangements as she was in the hospital with the coronavirus.
Understanding that she would be going into a rehab upon release from the hospital and be out-of-pocket for a time, she selected a small group that had been close to her deceased husband to handle arrangements. Among those duties was the obituary. The other two men on the team immediately passed that task on to me, for whatever reason I don’t know.
Sitting down at my house the next day, I proceeded to write the obituary, which from this point forward we will refer to as “the writing."
Sitting down at my house the next day, I proceeded to write the obituary, which from this point forward we will refer to as “the writing."
In about thirty minutes I had the first draft cranked out and with a few modifications, adjustments and additions, the writing was completed. Bill Rust, a member of the group, took the writing to be published in a local paper and I forwarded it on to a friend of mine that has an online blog and publication that covers the Joplin area. At this point I promptly forgot about the writing.
There is a line from an old episode of The Waltons in which John Boy quotes a professor of his stating the following, “It is an arrogant thing to be a writer. To assume that people will want to read what you put down on paper.” This line may not be an exact quote, but it certainly has the spirit of what was contained in the storyline.
I don’t know if that quote was taken from a person in the past or if was produced by the script writer during the show. No matter which source was responsible, it is a fairly true and accurate statement. I sit down and generate these articles with the clear assumption that there are people out there that have an interest in what I have to say. Yet, when someone tells me that they actually read my writings, I am amazed that anyone would have nothing better to do than to read what I have committed to paper.
Last week we attended the funeral of a friend and follower of my writings. In fact, I have included him by name in at least one article. I was always amazed that he, of all people, would take an interest in what I was sending out of my dark little corner. In fact, he was concerned a couple of times that I had not cleared some content with the good wife. I hate to lose people in my circle, but for the first time it struck me that I had also lost a reader. The arrogance crept in.
One of the brothers that I ride with asked if I was the author of the writing. I replied, “Yes, I wrote that.” To which he said, “I was certain of that, as I could see your style in its content.”
There is a line from an old episode of The Waltons in which John Boy quotes a professor of his stating the following, “It is an arrogant thing to be a writer. To assume that people will want to read what you put down on paper.” This line may not be an exact quote, but it certainly has the spirit of what was contained in the storyline.
I don’t know if that quote was taken from a person in the past or if was produced by the script writer during the show. No matter which source was responsible, it is a fairly true and accurate statement. I sit down and generate these articles with the clear assumption that there are people out there that have an interest in what I have to say. Yet, when someone tells me that they actually read my writings, I am amazed that anyone would have nothing better to do than to read what I have committed to paper.
Last week we attended the funeral of a friend and follower of my writings. In fact, I have included him by name in at least one article. I was always amazed that he, of all people, would take an interest in what I was sending out of my dark little corner. In fact, he was concerned a couple of times that I had not cleared some content with the good wife. I hate to lose people in my circle, but for the first time it struck me that I had also lost a reader. The arrogance crept in.
One of the brothers that I ride with asked if I was the author of the writing. I replied, “Yes, I wrote that.” To which he said, “I was certain of that, as I could see your style in its content.”
So, I guess I have style, or maybe I should say, a style.
(Paul Richardson's column, The Horse I Rode In On, is published in the Neosho Daily News, Seneca Post-Dispatch, Aurora Advertiser and on the Turner Report.)
No comments:
Post a Comment