A Writer With a Rare Gift

At fifty years of age, I should know what I want to be when I grow up. When I was a boy, I dreamed about becoming a professional race car driver, a radio DJ, a jazz musician, or President of the United States someday. I was a disc jockey and a trombone player for a time while I attended the University of Missouri, but that was as close as I have come to making a career out of any of my four childhood dream jobs.

As a grownup, I’ve learned that if a job can be described as a dream, it can probably be more accurately described as a bad dream. The prospect of having to work for most of my adult life is a nightmare to me. Nevertheless, in the last few weeks four intriguing occupational opportunities have presented themselves to me, forcing me to decide once and for all what it is that I want to do with my life.

The first of these opportunities involves running for public office. Although it is a far cry from being POTUS, I was flattered by several Southern Boone County citizens when I was asked to consider a run for the SoBoCo Board of Education. 

I am passionate about education and our local schools, but I feel like I can raise more awareness and make a bigger impact on my community by writing about the issues that affect students, teachers, administrators, and board members than I could by entering politics. Also, if I ran for office, it would be a breech of ethics to continue writing for the newspaper and receiving free publicity that could improve my chances of being elected. I believe that even if I refrained from writing about the election, it would be improper for only one candidate’s thoughts to be published regularly in the paper.

At least half-a-dozen people asked me to run for school board, and close to that many have asked if I plan on buying the Boone County Journal now that it is officially for sale. As a writer and journalist, becoming the publisher of my own newspaper is the chance of a lifetime. I am confident that an opportunity like this will likely never present itself to me again. However, after careful consideration, I have decided not to make an offer at this time.

Our small community is incredibly fortunate to have a locally-owned and operated newspaper. Not many towns the size of Ashland still have a source of local news in today’s world of media conglomerates. I am proud to play a part in the Journal’s continued success, but at this point in my life I am not interested in making the commitment to do whatever it takes to produce a high-quality, economically-viable newspaper week after week, month after month, year after year. It’s a ton of work, and anyone who knows me knows that I’m allergic to work.

Nearly as many people who asked me to run for office or buy the paper have asked me to return to substitute teaching. I subbed in the Southern Boone School District for nine years, through March of 2021, before stepping away from teaching in order to be a stay-at-home grandparent to baby Freya. Although I subbed in the middle school quite a few times early in my career, most of my experience in education has been at the primary school, or as I call it, “The Happiest Place on Earth”. For eight of those years the Primary was my happy place, but I am here to tell you that teaching during a pandemic is more stressful than any non-educator could possibly imagine. Even though Freya’s parents don’t need me to babysit as much as they once did, I am hesitant to jump back into teaching.

There is a critical shortage of substitutes right now, and if you want a job where you can make a positive difference in the lives of children while coming to the aid of teachers and administrators who are in desperate need of help, then I encourage you to become a sub. Southern Boone recently raised sub pay to $100/day and to $135/day for long-term assignments. Contact Kelly Services Educational Staffing at (800) 791-5895 (option 2) or at EDSWRecruiting@kellyservices.com for more information. 

The last of the four occupational opportunities I have been presented with is the one that I have decided to pursue; being a professional writer. I’ve been a music teacher, a public address announcer, a minister, a meatcutter, a burger flipper, a chicken fryer, a groundskeeper, a dog treat baker, and a used car dealer, but at my core I am, and always will be, a writer.

My first news story was published in the Jefferson City Business Times back in 2003. I created a blog two years later that really got my creative juices flowing, and by 2011 I self-published my first book, a novelized collection of short stories and personal essays called “Naked Snow Angels”. I started writing for the Boone County Journal shortly thereafter, and I have compiled my best columns of the last ten years into three volumes of collected works (all available for purchase on amazon.com).

Yes, I am a writer. And I am a writer with a rare gift; the gift of free time. 

Because I married an ambitious, intelligent, hard-working woman who is happy to be the bread winner of the family, I am not compelled to seek outside employment in order to pay the bills. Thanks to Bethany, I am free to write, and I intend to take full advantage of that freedom from now on.

I invite you to follow along as I throw myself into my chosen profession, and I thank you—as always—for reading.