I live in Sarasota, Florida from November until May and get my hard copy of Positively Naperville picked up from Casey’s on or about the first day of every month by Ben Santella. Then Ben sends it to me by snail mail express. It usually arrives around the 14th of the month in a brown paper sack with ketchup and mustard stains. Nevertheless, I enjoy it most times. However, the February issue was somewhat alarming. Some of its content shook me up a bit.
I’ve written for PN for over nine years and consider myself a mainstay columnist. However, the competition among columnists for your attention is fierce.
Between the YMCA column, the music guy, and the young restaurant reviewer, I have to be on the top of my game all the time. Now I see in the February issue that Stephanie is clicking it up a notch or two by adding Moe and Mike Krol. It is totally unfair to a humble writer like me to try and compete with them. I make stuff up and sometimes plagiarize …they probably don’t. Moe Krol is a very nice lady, but Mike has no emotions or concerns for my feelings. For more than 20 years, I’ve competed in golf against him and the closest I’ve come to beating him was in Scottsdale in 2001 when he fell asleep in a golf cart and I had a cactus at my disposal.
Moe wrote in their column that they’d both worked for Ameritech. Mike was in charge of the pay phone division throughout the Midwest. Maybe that’s why he pays in nickels, dimes and quarters whenever he buys a round.
One of the first places I go when I get PN is “Greetings from Our Readers” in hopes that someone read and sent a note about enjoying my last column. Writing a column is a lot like talking to a wall…or your spouse. Not a lot of response. I guess everyone is just too busy to hit a few keys to brighten my lonely life. I hear and read that newspapers in general are struggling. I don’t think PN will ever have that problem: The publication offers great local coverage of positive content and attracts super smart columnists.
There you go.
