COLUMN: It’s Just a Country State of Mind: Mentors and storytellers

When I was a child, my family ate breakfast around the kitchen table every morning before we all went about our day. My father had a full-time job, and my brother and I had school. My mother worked part-time. This was the time of day that we all sat around and talked about the coming day’s events. My dad would drink his coffee while the kids had a hefty breakfast of whatever my mother had cooked that morning.

The highlight of my morning came when my dad went out to the paper box to get the daily newspaper. He subscribed to the local paper, and it was my father’s ritual to go out and get it before breakfast and then read it out loud to us while we ate. He would read the headlines of the day and the weather. He would read all the current events. He would even read some of the comics to us. I was mesmerized by the sound of his voice as he said those big important-sounding words. Words that I didn’t know how to read yet. You see, I was only six-years-old at the time. I was only just learning the basics of spelling in school. It felt like it was something important that we were all doing, sitting around the table listening to my father’s words.

I remember when he would lay the paper on the table to finish getting ready for work. I would pick it up and look at the words. I couldn’t read them, but I wanted to very badly. I didn’t realize it then, but the impression he was making on me would stay with me throughout my entire life.

The newspaper was an important item in our household back then and in many households across America. Later, after I learned to read, I started reading the paper faithfully every day. So, after I had grown up, I began the ritual of reading the morning newspaper with my first cup of coffee of the day.

The newspapers back in the day weren’t just giving us the news. I believe that they gave us a sense of stability and togetherness. When my father read to us, a discussion always ensued afterwards. Of course, I was just listening and soaking it all up like a sponge. Little did I know how much those early readings would influence me later in life.

After I learned to read, I became an avid reader of everything I could get my hands on. But the newspaper was always my first love. When I went to college, I majored in nursing and my minor was in literature, of course. So, you can guess by now that I eventually started writing. It started with endless term papers in college. Sometimes I would have to read five books on a subject and then write a 10-page essay. There were so many of those papers I could not count them, nor did I want to. Later in life, I developed a knack for telling stories. It seems like everyone in my family was a natural storyteller. Sometimes the stories could get long and very detailed.

Eventually, I started putting my stories on paper, and I decided to find an outlet for them. By this time, I was living in Owen County and subscribed to the Spencer Evening World. I had subscribed to it for years. I decided to go down and talk to the editor and show him my work. Many of you probably remember Tom Douglas. He was the editor of the newspaper at that time. He welcomed me to his office with great joy. I left four stories for him to read. He gave me a call later and had me come back in where he asked me, “How would you like to have your own column in the newspaper.” I was excited and a little bit nervous. That was back in 2001. And that was how this column was born. He believed in giving people a chance to grow. It was a wonderful way to start my writing career. Tom and I had many discussions in his office about journalism and writing. He became a mentor to me.

It seems like when we have a calling in life, even if it’s a small one, helpers are always there to guide us on our journey. I was fortunate to have many mentors.

My story started around my family’s kitchen table when I was six-years-old and continued to college. And then of course, with the guidance of Tom. There were others as well, with a special mention of Travis Curry, who became editor of the Spencer Evening World after Tom. So, this story is really about the people that come into our lives to help us. And it’s about Father’s Day. My dad has been gone a long time. I haven’t spoken to Tom for years. Both men had an influence on the way I look at the world and how I look at myself as far as writing is concerned.

I went on to write in other publications, and I’m currently writing two columns. It’s a way of life for me now, and I have become a mentor of sorts to others.

The newspaper industry has declined over the years. Many people like the digital version, and the internet has a lot to do with that, I think. Call me old-fashioned, but I still like to hold a physical copy of a newspaper in my hand while I enjoy my morning coffee. While I’m reading and soaking up the words on the paper, I can hear the voices of my mentors in my ear, encouraging me, reminding me of the things they taught me. I would like to think there is a little piece of them in every story I write. So, this Father’s Day, I am honoring all those fathers who have mentored their children or other people’s grown up children to be the best version of themselves.

Thank you all! None of it was lost on me.

Happy Father’s Day!

Susan