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Write and Wrong

"Ah, she knows me so well.'"


Some of you know that I have this new gig. It started when the publisher of Appleton Monthly Magazine called on my wife Maria at the Paper Discovery Center. Maria is the Executive Director of this museum and learning center in Appleton, Wisconsin.

 In the course of the conversation, he asked if she knew anyone who might like to write about theater in the Fox Valley. She told him she thought that she and I might be up to the task.Her thinking was we could collaborate on the ideas for the column. After which, I would write she would edit. A good choice, given her schedule, wouldn't allow the time to research, interview for and compose the columns. Reversing the roles would be a disaster. She can write as well if not better than I can but my copy editing skills...? Let's just say, thankfully there is Grammarly.

 We have been doing this six months. I have to say for me, it has been a great learning experience. I've interviewed some fascinating people, been introduced to activities in our community that I never would have been exposed to and it's been a kick seeing our work in print.

 Appleton Monthly Magazine is distributed about the first of each month. It's a free sixty-four page, four-color piece that is loaded with useful information on cooking, dining, gardening, theater, finance, trends, local people, and activities.

 We approach the theater column as an education theme. Most people, even those of us love theater, really don't know how it's done. Since live theater is a highly collaborative process, we decided to look at some of the parts of that process in depth and detail.

 I've done a column on lighting. I interviewed a director on teaching high school kid's how to act. I attended auditions for a regional theater.

 In addition to the theater column, I've taken on the "Taste" spot. In this piece, I will write about one restaurant. In the latest column, I ended up writing about the restaurant, but in addition, I discovered a compelling story about a families immigration that could easily become a book or a film. I'll give you link to it and you can judge for yourself.

 http://halvinandcoobs.blogspot.com/2018/04/taste-article-amm-may-2018.html

This is what is going on in my life. I could be writing a book no one will read or making a film no one will watch. I think this works out better.

 I am waiting patiently for the spring storm of all spring storms. My snow thrower is gassed and ready.
Poppa Jeff

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