I guess this is it. Time to take off the mask. Time to say “thank you” to those who have said “thank you” to me, usually in the grocery store, and I’ll admit I’ve deceived you all in the pretense of being a credible writer/reporter/story teller.
Well, to be honest, there’s been no pretense here. Some of it has been pretty good, some of it awful, blame, when we go astray.
I thought for sure it was my punishment for some forgotten sin I have committed in the name of journalism, and my muse is snickering in a shadowy corner somewhere. I’d apologize to the aforementioned muse, but I’m not sure how to address him (or her).
No, I’m persuaded that one or more of the many, many medications that are (barely) allowing me to function normally has swapped out with a gremlin that doesn’t know the meaning of normal. I sometimes go blank in the middle of a sentence, either written or spoken and I’m at a loss for what I always had enjoyed so easily.
For the record, Cal Beverly has been so patient with me, allowing me to write or not write as I have need to, but obviously this is not fair to the real journalists in The Citizen’s office. Trust me, the inches of print that have for so long anchored the Names & Faces page will be missed by me as much as by you. But my colleagues have a lot of talent among them, and I will be watching and holding them accountable.
And we both, you and I, remember that Cal is under no obligation to publish anything I send him.
I’ll write when the urge to write exceeds my humility, or when I think I have a pertinent comment to make. You can help, by calling or emailing me with items you think appropriate. See below.
Right now, for example, I have a really delightful letter from a reader in Alabama. I’m having a little trouble contacting her to tie up some loose ends so I can transcribe it for you, but I will, I will.
The real villain in this whole drama is a new computer with Windows — something that I was assured would make life much easier than the Windows XP I was using.
Balderdash! Talk about overkill! I swan, if there is more than one way to expand information to fill a few inches of news space, this version has found it. Or lost it. Whichever.
Let’s just take things as they come. When I feel as though I have something you’ll relate to, I’ll try to share it with you. Thanks in advance for sending it. Maybe the Pulitzer people will finally notice.
And thanks for sticking with me over a lot of years (how many, Cal?), a few smiles and a few tears. I’ll miss you all. Now if I can just find my email program….
Sallie Satterthwaite, 127 Terrace Tay, Peachtree City 30269, 770-487-8134, sallies@juno.com
[Editor’s note: In a recent story about her in Fayette Woman Magazine, Sallie explained:“I was diagnosed a few years ago with Parkinson’s disease, which is challenging to live with. Getting Parkinson’s is disappointing, but I am pretty pragmatic and don’t dwell a whole lot on what might have been.”] [Sallie Satterthwaite has been writing a regular column for The Citizen for nearly 22 years, since 1993.]
