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“Love lights our path, no matter our journey”. – Ed McShane
Hire Ed McShane to speak at your next event!
For more information email Gladys@happyscribbles.net
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I write a fair amount. Reports, notes. Emails, of course. Little missives of thought, mostly to my family. That kind of writing can apply to most of us.
As I wrote observations about those around me and their lives, the missives turned into essays, and the essays became a weekly ritual.
I began writing when I was 16. My first mentor, Frank McNaughton-a congressional correspondent for Time Magazine from 1940 to 1954-told me that if I wanted to be a good writer someday, write a journal. Daily. Taking his advice, in the summer of 1977, on an electric Smith Corona typewriter with a manual return, I did just that, I wrote.
Eight years later, I sent a letter to KPBS-FM in San Diego about a piece they did on older adults in the community. The letter got to the desk of a producer named Karen Kish. She called and told me about a program they were setting up there, and would I like to be a part of it. It meant that I would interview people in my field to appear on the radio. I jumped at the chance. I wrote copy, questions, and conducted interviews. This developed into writing commentary and airing my thoughts. My writing was being broadcast.
Eighteen years later, I again wrote a letter to the station complaining about how they took one of my favorite radio shows off the air. The General Manager himself, Doug Myrland, called me. We spoke about twenty minutes about the good old days, and he told me they were putting together a new website for the station utilizing writers from the community. I submitted my essays, and my writing was taken in, again. This time they put me on the same page with Neil Morgan, the most famous journalist in San Diego history, and other writers in San Diego.
My essays are thoughts, observations, or merely “notes”, but with some meaning or depth assigned to some of the lines. Notes that might touch the heart…which gave me the title for my first book.
I hope you enjoy the book. It is meant for you to feel something. We go about our lives with such routine, may the essays in the book interrupt that routine, and bring some happiness to your days.
Sincerely,
Ed
