Dear Reader,
Congratulations to September cookie winners, Brenda G., St. Charles Parish Library; Robin L., Hasbrouck Heights Library and Linda S., UA Little Rock, Sequoyah National Research Center.
Ask questions and in the answers you'll discover things you can write about for this year's Write a DearReader Contest. Questions and answers inspired this column a few years ago...
My husband cringes and tries to duck out of sight whenever he hears me say to a stranger, "I realize this isn't really any of my business, but I'm just curious..." I admit the first few times I ventured into the "unknown," that even I felt a little uneasy. But in the end, I've never been sorry that I asked, because usually I hear an interesting story.
"Why was the man in front of me in the grocery line wearing a green ribbon, with a fancy bow tied around the bottom of his pant leg? No, he wasn't a cyclist. He said he's always forgetting important things, (well, that's what his wife tells him) they made a bet, he lost, and his wife didn't think that a string tied around his finger for a day was big enough penance.
And then there's Gretchen, a book club reader. She sent me an email the other day and her signature line read:
From the desk of Gretchen S.
Soprano & Office Manager
Okay, I had to ask. Soprano & Office Manager??
Gretchen explained it this way: "I have two lives. My life I love--a working musician as an operatic soprano/voice, teacher/performer, which doesn't quite pay my bills yet! And my other life--that supports the soprano part of my life I love--office manager at a small accounting firm! So, Diva, soprano, office manager, I am! Diva by night, office manager by day!"
I like her idea. It's a great way to "market" what you want to be or what you'd rather be doing from 9 to 5. "How-to" gurus are constantly preaching, "if you want to make a change in your life, think the part, act the part, until it happens." Think of the possibilities:
Sailor / VP Public Relations
Single and still looking / Accountant
Perfect Game Bowler / Retail Clerk
Author / Postal Carrier
Want to be thinner / School Teacher
Scrabble Champion / Butcher
First Baseman / Lab Technician
NASCAR Driver / Waiter
So what would be yours?
* Less than two weeks left to enter my annual Write a DearReader Contest. You don't need to be a writer to enter. The contest is for writing fun. To read all the other information you need, click here.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
This month's Penguin Classics book is PENGUIN BOOK OF MIGRATION IN LITERATURE: DEPARTURES, ARRIVALS, GENERATIONS, RETURNS, edited by Dohra Ahmad. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading today and enter for your chance to win.
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