Time for responses again
John E. Peterson, Special to the Gazette
Thursday, September 17, 2009
If you read these trivial columns of mine with any regularity, you know that I periodically like to write about the responses I get. It is good for my ego, but it also gives you readers an idea of what others think about the column. It is time, therefore, for another response column, if I had my way.
It was a beautiful July day. The temperature was not quite in the 80s. As I got out of my car in the parking lot, a lady got out of the car next to me. She said hello to me and then said, “Every day would be as nice as this one, if I had my way.”
Then she said she enjoyed my column. I thanked her. I very much like to hear people use my “If I had my way” when they speak to me.
The walking track at the Lee Beran Recreation Center is around the gymnasium. It is up above the gym floor. That area of the center tends to vary a great deal in temperature. One day it is cool and comfortable. The next day it may be very hot.
On one of the hot days, a woman who walks it regularly said to me, “If I had my way, they would find some way to keep the temperature in this place comfortable.” I certainly agreed with her.
I had my annual physical on a Friday. All was fine, but I had to go in on the next Friday at 8 a.m. for the lab tests.
Sitting there waiting to be called, I chatted with a couple next to me. They were from a farm near the Admire entrance to the big highway, they told me. Then my name was called and I went in and gave my things.
As I was walking out of the building, that couple I had been sitting next to came up behind me. She said that they had heard my name called. Was I the John Peterson who wrote those columns in The Gazette? Of course, I said that I was. She said they liked the columns very much, especially those about travels and the “If I had my way” part. That even made my lab tests feel good.
A few columns back, I wrote about our Young Thespian Players, an activity here which I consider a fine Emporia Plus. A couple of days after it appeared, I received a lovely, thank you card from Wilma Cravens. It came from Wilma because she is the mother of Penni Hansen and Susie LeGault, the two women who run the Young Thespian Players.
A few days later, I received a nice letter from Penni and Susie. They liked the column and the publicity it gave their activity. They thanked me and told me other thing about the group.
A couple of weeks later, Terry Miller told me how much she had liked that column. She said she liked it particularly because her grandson is a part of the Young Thespian group. She is pleased with the program and what it does for her grandson.
Such responses about one of my columns is a great ego trip for me. When I write these things, I am never totally sure that I am being correct and saying the right things. It is nice that I am sometimes told that all is OK. Thank you, Wilma, Penni, Susie and Terry for giving me such an ego boost. It would happen often, if I had my way.
Back in June, I wrote a column I called “Mushrooms and Mind.” It was a variety of stories about how mushrooms affect the human mind, since some of them are hallucinogenic. That column brought several verbal comments, but a note came from Imogene McCosh.
She addressed me as Dean John-Pete,” as she always does. Then she just said, “When you write about fungi, your words sing. Keep it up.” Thanks, Imo! I will keep it up, if I have my way.
A column about Emporia Pluses said some very strong things about Brodie’s Full Service Station. I consider it a big Emporia plus. Shortly after the column came out in the paper, I went there to get my full service. That column had been cut out of the paper, wrapped in plastic and hung there in Brodie’s office. A great response, I thought! Brodie’s is, indeed a big Emporia Plus. Any of you would use it, if I had my way.
I wrote a column about two stories. One was a story Marie Wood told me about her husband, Darrell, calling me a “Fun Guy” because of my work with “Fun Ji.” Marie gave me a nice response. She liked it and got copies to send to relatives and friends. I was pleased.
The other story had to do with Joan Gatewood telling me about mussel collecting out of the Neosho River on their farm south of Dunlap. Betty Eby, who used to live in Dunlap and knows the area and people, told me that she had enjoyed that story. Thank you, Marie and Betty.
I am delighted with such responses. They always make me feel good. You would keep them coming, if I had my way.
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