I became a journalist on Avon St. (Flint, MI)

I found this blog the other day in which the woman who writes it was living my life (sort of) from 32 years ago, in Flint.

Finding it was the result of some search I was doing. The "some search" is the problem. I commented on one of her posts and now I can't find it again!

So this woman, who is some 7 years older than I, apparently, was doing stuff that I was doing when I was in my early 20s - writing for a (free) publication called East Village Magazine. It's how I got my start, you know? Some things never change.

The editor of the magazine then and now is Gary Custer, who is the person who taught me journalism. I started off as a proofreader, became and editor, and then one day Gary asked me if I wouldn't try my hand at writing a feature story.

Then I started covering Flint City Council meetings. Ha ha, you should have seen those people! One of them was a few years later, with his wife, discovered at a dump in Toledo, Ohio. In their nightclothes and positively murdered.

Anyway, this blogger, Macy Swain (who has since moved to CA), was commenting about how she went over to Gary's house for a picnic and his brother Ed was there, and Ed's wife, Casey ... all people I used to know very well. I knew Ed and Casey before, at at the time they started, dating and now they have these grown up kids ...

I don't keep in touch with these people, I only read about them on other people's blogs.

The last time I went back to Flint, I stopped in at the magazine's office. Gary did not remember me at first (all those cases of beer finally got to his brain cells, I guess). But then he peered at me for a few seconds and somehow I came back to him.

He used to drink a case of beer every day. And he had a perpetual pot of chili (he just kept 'refreshing' it) and the most vicious cat I've ever seen.

"He's just being friendly," Gary would say as he disengaged its claws from my back.

Gary started the magazine in 1976 (when I signed on as well) and it seems it's still going strong. I used to type my stories on a - gasp - manual typewriter! With two carbon copies required ... and I proofread galleys, while sitting on the steps of my apartment, smoking.

We mostly all smoked, we drank, we got .... ummmm, our fortunes told, by Gary (he served in Vietnam and picked up throwing prophetic stones). He told me I would marry late in life and have 2 children.

The website is under construction or I would link to it.

Andy's da bomb

I just got the July/Aug. issue of Merrimack Valley Magazine in the mail. Andre Dubus III is on the cover. And I have to say this (because it's true), Andy Smith's profile of him is oh so much better than the story in the Eagle Tribune's Newburyport Magazine, which was about the man's house.

Thought I was going to say something about how good looking Andre is, didn't you?

And since I love every word that Andy writes, I'm also pointing out his 9 hot dogs in 9 hours piece. I could have eaten 9 hotdogs in 9 hours, no prob (I love hotdogs), but I probably wouldn't have lost a dog and stopped for a nap on Salisbury Beach and thereby making readers smile.

Benefits to covering events

So, I've been in Andover most of the day, at the Andover Country Club, hobnobbing with - a guy from Andover and his daughter.

I'd love to be able to say I'd been hobnobbing with state Sen. Susan Tucker and Channel 5 anchor woman and consumer reporter Susan Wornick, who both spoke at the event I was covering for Merrimack Valley Magazine, but they had to run off after speaking to the assembly.

It was the 25th annual Celebration of Tribute to Women awards luncheon, put on by the YWCA of Greater Lawrence. I can't say more because I'm writing the story ...

But the guy from Andover and his daughter, who were the only other people at my table, were really pleasant. His wife/her mother was one of the honorees. We ate all the fruit bowls from the empty places and we got more dessert than anyone else because there were only 3 of us and the dessert plates were filled to suit 10 people.

I love these kind of assignments.

We got competition

So as I said before I lost my temper, I earlier was at a gathering of Merrimack Valley Mag staff in Haverhill.

We were all told that Eagle-Tribune Publishing is starting glossy magazines in Merrimack Valley towns and the one for Newburyport launches in June. Heeee

Speaking of MVM, I have the cover story on the new issue! It's not a bird story; the issue hasn't been posted on the website yet. We got it (literally) hot off the presses. It is a feature on the Grossi home in Amesbury (John Grossi is the owner of Latitude Sports Clubs) - and the architect for which was our own Andrew Sidford.

And back to new glossy competition - MVM now has 4 writers who live in Newburyport, as contributors. I think we're up for it.


Finally, I have to put a word in for A Hot Dish, the eatery/catering place (?I dunno, they had tables out) where we met tonight. It's at 800 Broadway/Rte. 97 (north) in Haverhill. The food was excellent!

I would have paid THEM

So today I got this email from the editor of Merrimack Valley Magazine:

"(The publisher) sent me to photograph a Happenings event this morning- it was extremely last minute (found out about it late yesterday afternoon) and I didn’t want to bother you to get up early for it :) ..." She geos on to ask if I'll write "a snippet" about it anyway.

So far, so good. I hate getting up early. Then I read on:

"The event was a sort of introductory breakfast at Salvatore’s in Lawrence this morning. Red Sox 3rd baseman Mike Lowell was there as a special guest."

Did I ever mention that Mike Lowell is, like, one of my favorite men in the world? No? Well let me tell you, I would not only have arisen at 5 a.m., if necessary, I honestly would have paid the magazine for the chance to be face-to-face with Mike Lowell, if that is what it took.

Rats!

I'm pooped

I've been out and about Newburyport all day. The photographer for Applaud magazine, for which I am writing the editorial in a 2-page spread about Newburyport for the next issue, came down from NH and we went to 12 different places to shoot.

I polled my writers group (as in the one I belong to, I did not organize it) and used the results to cull down the many possibilities of businesses to highlight here. I thank everyone in the group that responded and hope everyone approves of my choices! It was not an easy task given how many unique and wonderful shops we have here.

The publisher will be saturating the area with the (free) magazine, which is targeted towards women. I'll let you know when it's out there.

Still have a story to write for Sea Coast Scene as well.

MVM

Speaking of Merrimack Valley Magazine, the cover on the March/April issue (available now at Fowle's) features a photograph by a local, nature photographer Jim Fenton. There's also a nice photo spread inside the issue.

There is also a personal essay by Port writer Aine Greaney, an Irish transplant to our region, and a review of resident Elisabeth Brink's novel, "Save Your Own," penned by another local, Michelle Xiarhos Curran, who was once, as was I, a freelancer with the Current.

Michelle, who also has a piece in the issue about shopping in Newburyport and Amesbury, has been a constant contributer since the first issue, again as have I and Lowell resident Andy Smith.