Lisha Cassibo has been writing for the Uxbridge Cosmos for two years, both as a freelancer and as a columnist. She has also written for several parenting magazines both here in Canada and for English publications in Switzerland. She graduated from Carleton University with an honours degree in Journalism and English Literature. She lives with her family in Sunderland.
A writer's joy
So Conrad asks me if I can write a Blonde Moment this week, and I agree, thinking that, as I wash my floor and drive around doing errands during the day, I can come up with a brilliant idea and run with it. I haven't had anything monumental happen to me lately, so I have to dig a little deeper into my writer psyche and pull from it. As it turns out, not the easy task I though it would be.
I thunk. And I thunk. And then I thunk some more. Nothing. On the same day, however, I did an incredible interview with the great people that own Staite's Honey. They were delightful. Easy to talk to, they answered my questions before I even asked them, and they even helped me boost my van that had decided to die in their driveway. I left their Honey House with a smile on my face. I felt so good after our meeting. Which got me thinking. I have met so many fabulous people doing this “job.” I hesitate to call it that because it really isn't a job, per se. It's freelance, so I choose if and when I can write, which really is a dream. A writer at a daily doesn't have that luxury, and therefore may not have the same passion. And my editor, dear that he is, is ever so patient with me and my busy little life that I really am lucky to have a place to blab at all! But I digress.
My thoughts, after spending time with the Staites, were on some of the other great people that I've met, and all the neat things I've learned. With them, I learned enough about beekeeping to be hired on tomorrow. I knew nothing when I went in, and developed a new respect and appreciation for the work beekeepers do. I've interviewed people who work with horses, and have been closer to the animals than I would ever dare to go on my own, as they scare me to death. Again, I've come away with respect and admiration for the work done with these noble beasts. After one such interview I even briefly considered riding lessons!
I've interviewed firefighters, and heard stories that have made me feel the heat from the calls they've been on. My brother is a firefighter, and I feel that I have a little inside knowledge of the things he faces each time he goes out on a call. Glad I'm not married to him, I'd never sleep. I've interviewed a farmer that taught me how to watch a stalk of asparagus grow. I'm serious, I actually watched it grow. While it is an activity that is only a couple of steps up from watching paint dry and fishing, it was fascinating nonetheless. Not many people can claim they've done it…
Covering the township council, I got a good insight into what makes the town tick. I didn't cover it long enough to really get into it - I happily leave that to a fellow Cosmos writer, who does it much better than I would ever hope to. But I learned.
That's what it all comes down to. I've learned. Time and time again. I love it. I gain useful tidbits that can serve me well when conversations at a party start to go stale (that's why I told you all to use the bits I sent along for Canada Day…) But I also learn about the people in this tiny, wonderful town of ours. I love meeting people for the first time one day, and then spying them in Zehrs the next, and saying a big hello, like I've run into an old friend. This does infuriate my husband and my children, however.
“God, is there anyone in this town you don't know!” Brian mumbles as I wave to yet another acquaintance. I'm not suggesting I'm becoming Miss Popularity, not by any stretch, nor do I want to be. But I love knowing the stories behind the faces I see every day.
Another little plus to this gig is that I get to satisfy the word junkie within me. I'm not into crosswords or anything like that, but I do love our language, and I love using it properly (although I do have an editor that never hesitates to point out my deficiencies, should they exist). I studied journalism and English literature, and taught English to Swiss-German speakers when I lived overseas, so my grasp of the language and its grammar is, if I may say so myself, solid and extensive. Even hearing misused participles and things like “youse” instead of “you” sets my teeth on edge. I would have no friends at all, however, if I went around correcting everyone. So I keep the editor inside of me, well, inside, and I let my inner word-snob rip when I write. Whether anybody cares enough to read it or not, I'll never know.
I guess this is all to say that I really have it pretty sweet (no reference to the bee story intended). I get to “enrich my word power”, as it were, and I get to meet the interesting people that live in and around Uxbridge. I grew up in this town, left for awhile, and returned, and I never cease to be amazed by the diversity, uniqueness and genuineness of Uxbridge's inhabitants. Cripes, there's fodder enough here for a thousand articles and columns!
And yes, I know there's no such word as thunk.
