Vacuuming in the Nude: And Other Ways to Get Attention by Peggy Rowe

Author:Peggy Rowe [Rowe, Peggy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781637631003
Publisher: Forefront Books
Published: 2022-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9 MAKING A DIFFERENCE

I HAVE THE GREATEST RESPECT for real working writers. I mean the ones who hustle to find a story, pitch it, conduct an interview, and write it. Like my friend and editor, Michele, who also writes articles for professional publications, national magazines, and websites. She considers herself a freelancer. But I, on the other hand, have never pitched a story or had an assignment—or even a deadline. I’ve written stories and articles on topics that have interested me and submitted some of them to various publications.

I’d love to say that my freelance writing salary has put food on the table and paid the mortgage. But it would be a lie. If John and I had depended on my income as a writer, we’d have eaten beans and lived in a crate. It was my husband’s teaching salary and good sense when it came to finances that provided our family’s security.

When it came to writing, the big payoff came in 2002 when I wrote a letter to the Baltimore Orioles’s front office about their number one fan. A letter that resulted in an invitation for my ninety-year-old infirm mother to throw out an opening pitch at an Orioles game, which she would go on to describe as the most exciting experience of her life. Years later, I would write another such letter for my one-hundred-year-old friend, Mary, who received the same invitation. She, too, described it as the most exciting experience of her life.

Knowing that my writing has impacted someone else’s life in a positive way is as good as it gets. Such was the case in 2012 when I wrote the following story about our neighbor, Chick Serio.

“For Gallantry in Action”

The Baltimore Sun, 2012—Memorial Day

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