I’m going soft today.

I’m been working up to something bigger,something more outraged, as the result of yet another maddening meme I saw on Facebook this weekend, but I’m not quite ready to go there and I don’t want to start my week off with aggravation. Instead, we’ll go with something a little more “feel good.”

Locust borer on goldenrod

As you may or may not know, I write a monthly column for a local newspaper. It (the paper) publishes once a week; my column once a month. While I enjoy the work, it often causes me stress, as I regularly find myself scrambling to beat deadline. And, much as I do with this blog, I will frequently spend several days banging my head against the wall on a column, only to change topics at the last possible minute. This month’s column was one of those. After struggling for the better part of a week with…well, I don’t even remember what I was trying to write about now…I switched gears at the last minute and wrote about my favorite fall wildflower, goldenrod. You can read that here. (Quick note: local papers tend not to do much editing, except for the headlines. All errors, grammar mangling, and leaps of logic are my responsibility)

In the week or so since this column was published, I’ve had several people tell me they loved it. Four of them were people I know (though I did not walk up to them and say, “Did you read my column, huh, huh? What’d ya think?” These were unsolicited comments.); one of them was a random lady in the bank who must have recognized me from the picture that goes with the column. Seems I am not the only person who appreciates goldenrod. And, I have to admit, it’s nice to hear these kinds of comments. The ego needs boosting once in a while.

I mention this not to toot my own horn, because I hate tooting my own horn, but because it’s important to know that, even in this digital age, people still do read things like newspapers. And they listen to the radio. When my organization has a big event coming up, we make a point of going to the local radio station and going on air for a few minutes. The number of people who call or register for programs as a result is impressing. In fact, two days after the goldenrod column ran, I was representing the organization at a local timbersports event and was interviewed live on air. Literally five minutes, someone looked at me and said, “Didn’t I just hear you on the radio?”

Maybe it’s a function of where I live–a predominantly rural, media-starved county with spotty cell/wifi and cable service that still doesn’t reach all areas. The point, however, is that if you are an author (or any kind of  business person), you shouldn’t be sitting around waiting around for Terry Gross or The New York Times to call you. Start local. There are people listening, and reading.

 (Photo by me. The locust borer is a harmless beetle (harmless unless you are a black locust tree, that is; then it could be a problem) commonly found feeding on goldenrod in fall)