|
Curtain
Call
My
first article with TAC was on March 14th, 2003, a day that shall live in
infamy. Now, six months later, it comes to a close as TAC says good-bye.
Twenty-two articles written about nothing more than waiting tables at a
neighbourhood bar and grill kept my fingers on the keyboard and my mind
working to entertain the few faithful readers of this column.
When
the TAC site was first created over a year ago, I was offered the chance at
writing a guest column but turned it down for fear I wasn't good enough.
I've always written, but my audience was myself or maybe a few close
friends. Steven Kilpatrick and Donnacha Kelly used to encourage me give it
a try just the same, and though I longed to give it a go, my "stage fright"
always got the best of me. I always thought what I found funny, or the way
I wrote would only entertain me. See, I make myself laugh all the damn
time, but that doesn't mean anything in the really real world.
I
still have the first e-mail David sent me when I inquired about writing for
the site again. I had so many doubts, and even begged him to read my first
article and critique it, adding that he was to tell "a living soul" of it's
existence until I was comfortable enough to have it published. I felt like
a child handing over a report card as I waited for his reply. I seriously
expected him to pass it back and make me re-write it all to make it
"interesting". Yet, he said it was ready (and I thought he was just being
nice), and after several days, I gave him the go ahead to publish it.
Those
first few kind words I got and the way people told me it was funny and they
liked my style… wow. I never expected it and it was far more than
encouraging, especially when David asked if I could write weekly and not
just as a guest spot. I started cranking out those articles like I held
some creative writing Tommy-gun. It's all I ever wanted to do my whole
life, and it felt good to do it.
So I
owe a lot to this site and to its readers. From my weekly ramblings about
getting tips, I got the courage to start my novel (now on chapter 4, suckahs!),
and co-create a new website. TAC has also given me great reading material
to pass the time when I have writer's block. I can't tell you how much I
looked forward to reading Jane's column which always made me laugh and made
me feel like part of this secret sorority. I am her biggest… fan… EVER!
Tom's comics… too entertaining to be free! I still laugh when I think of
those paint-shopped t-shirts. The list could go on and on, but I should
wrap this up since it's a farewell letter and not an "About Us" feature.
Plus, I'm sounding sappy and I growl at sappy.
Thank
you, everyone, for reading my column and for all your encouragement. My
co-workers (Julia, Brian, Alicia, Josh, Rachel, Patricia, Sean, Lee, Doug
and Tammy) should be thanked for their part in it all… always being weird
enough to give me shit to write about, and never letting an article go
unread or undiscussed. This sounds like an Oscar speech so I'm done before
I start dragging the "Academy" into this. I'm writing this in my pajamas
for Christ sake and it's not a Dolce y Cabana piece either (shhh… it's off
the rack). Good luck to all of you and be sure to visit
www.jeffweaversmom.com if you
miss my schtick. If you don't miss it, screw you, hippies.
Love,
Angela |
