Thursday, November 8, 2007

Coffee, Our Town, or Me?

I've just finished the final read-through of my column for December's issue of Our Town Magazine (HI-larious, trust me). When it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't yet told the tale of how a newbie writer (That's me, playing the lead in the story) happened to catch her big break (That would be the column, for those following the story line).

It was a dark and stormy night when Mr. Hall went out to get a cup of coffee. (All good stories start like that...though, in actual fact, it may have been a bright and sunny morning).

Anyway, the beneficent Mr. Hall, at some point in the coffee pursuit, crossed paths with a friend of mine. We shall call her Madame X (though, in actual fact, her name is Janet Lennox). As fate would have it, Madame X was in possession of several copies of Our Town Magazine (the plot thickens!). Chit chat ensued.

"My, my," said Mr. Hall to Madame X, "I did not know that you were a magazine publisher!"

Mr. Hall talks like that when he is out amongst the public.

"Oh, yes," said Madame X, "We have been distributing this new publication in Gwinnett County, serving the cities of Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Snellville and Grayson, for just a few months."

Odd, I know, but Madame X talks like that in public, too.

And wham! Mr. Hall remembered that Cathy C. Hall was at home at that VERY SAME MOMENT writing! Would Madame X be interested in scathingly witty opinions for this newly published magazine? (This is what we call the turning point of the story.)

So, (end of story) I write a funny column called Inside Out for Our Town Magazine, wherein I reap a bit of Fame and a smidge of Fortune.

And now, because every good story has some kind of rewarding conclusion, I offer this moral:

"Never settle for a cup of coffee from home when you can spend big bucks for a cup of Joe from your local over-priced Caffeine-meister."

Which is a another way of saying, "Be ready when opportunity knocks." (Especially if her name is Janet and she's holding a stack of Our Town Magazines.)






















Oh, look! A visual aid for the story: Copy of Our Town Magazine in which my first comic musings can be found. Bonus: Name the Olympic swimmer on the cover.

(Seriously. I cannot for the life of me remember her name.)