We all recall how nervous we might have been at certain times in our lives, whether it be the night before a big exam or test, or getting cold feet before trying something new. This is how we test ourselves, and how we deal with this kind of stress says a lot about us as people.
It was more or less a year ago today that I contacted Dolphin Talk’s lovely editor at large Joyce Rhyne, who had liked my sample article about moving to the Texas coast (Which later became the first Fish Out of Water column) and asked me to come aboard as a writer and correspondent in the Port Lavaca area.
This had to be one of the happiest days of my life as I was trying to build a freelance writing career and a newspaper credit and some reporting experience would not go amiss on my resume.
Before writing for the Dolphin Talk, I had some experience, writing for various web-zines and websites about the BBC television series “Doctor Who”, as well as being a contributor to a book on the same subject entitled Ultimate Regeneration, which was published in 2011.
However, now I found myself really being a ‘fish out of water’ as I was assigned to my first assignment, covering the dedication of the Johnstone Building on Main Street in Port Lavaca.
It was a cloudy day that threatened to drop rain out of the sky, and little drops could be seen on the folding chairs lined up in the middle of Main Street, which was blocked off to vehicle traffic for the dedication.
I had spent the day before at Wal-Mart of all places, trying desperately to find a shirt that looked professional. I was not out of my depth, but I was definitely about to take on another aspect of the craft of writing, head on.
As I approached the building, I saw the little white cat decoration on the front of the Johnstone Building, which I took as a good omen, as for a guy I am a total cat nut (seriously, I have statues).
The first person to approach me was Russell Cain, who I was told when I moved to this area was very involved in most aspects of the community. He was very warm and this put me at ease, which made my task seem a great deal easier.
Next was the Mayor of Port Lavaca, Jack Whitlow, who also had to be one of the nicest people I ran into in my first few weeks in South Texas, and one who later I would find played the guitar, as I do myself.
Before any reader out there thinks I am building myself up, let me explain. I came from right outside Chicago, Illinois. You just don’t meet the mayor of the city where I was from, you just didn’t. Mayor Daley never came by or was bumped into and you had a nice chat about the weather or sports. It just was not done.
It would be suffice to say that this is one of the defining moments that made me feel at home in Port Lavaca and it also made me really change my thoughts about how well the big city compared to the smaller towns. There was not a line of ten thousand other writers covering this. It was possible to get experience and actually write without having to be weighed down by tons of political gobbly gook.
Recently I was talking to a friend I have known for years who is a visual artist. We were chatting about the kind of things people probably think artsy people talk about when eventually we touched on how some people can turn their talent into power trips. I quickly related this to how I felt about reporting for the paper. Although it was fun to be able to walk up to people and interview them and arrange and take photos to appear alongside the text, it was never a power trip to be able to do so. Rather it was one of the best feelings in the universe, to be doing what you loved and being respected for it to boot. To a man who at times in his past thought he would never be able to get anything out there due to a past of troubles, it was like a dream.
So I enjoyed every little problem, every little odd quote that you had to fit in to have a news piece but you had no idea how, every deadline looming (tomorrow) and every opportunity to make each article and column my own, to try and find a voice that would hopefully hold readers’ interest, as well as entertain and inform.
Now I am not sure how many pairs of eyes have actively followed this space over the last three hundred and sixty five days, but I am glad I was allowed to be here and wanted to take time to thank both Joyce and the Dolphin Talk for the opportunity and thanks to you as well for reading the ramblings that flow from this keyboard and this rattled rat’s maze of a mind.
The experience of writing this column and other items for this publication gave me the confidence to start other writing projects and also gave me a chance to keep producing something with regularity. This to me is one of the key ingredients for any writer’s success, especially when real life can at times try to knock you off the horse of your dreams by making you ride very rough terrain.
Cheers to each and every one of you reading out there. Happy New Year and hope to see you each month right here in 2013.
