The Friends of the Sun Prairie Public Library are sponsoring the second annual writing contest.  This year there will be three cash prizes for each age category.  First place - $50; Second place - $30 and Runner-up $20.
There are three age categories with a theme to write about in each category.

 Grades K- 5  “When I walk into the library I feel . . .”
Grades 6-12  “Libraries help me become . . .”
Adult  “The Library is important to Sun Prairie community because . . .”

All genres of writing are accepted including:  narrative, memoir, poetry, graphic, autobiography.

Each submission is limited to 500 words.
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Submissions begin March 1 and end April 17.
Winners will be notified on Friday May 8, 2020.
Winners will be announced at a special ceremony Saturday May 16, 2020 at 2:00 pm.
For more information go to:  sunlib.org/friends-sun-prairie-public-library
 
 
 

I have broadcast a radio program from our local low power station for more than three years.  While the broadcast signal barely stretches 20 miles the show is live streamed which means it is worldwide.

I began wanting to produce a talk show and have not introduced music into my show except to open and close the show.  My show has had three different names and for the last year I’ve stuck with “My World and Welcome to It”, which I stole from the James Thurber book My World – Welcome to It and the television program “My World and Welcome to It” (notice the minor difference in names).

I invite the audience to share my world of the arts by talking with writers, musicians, composers, teachers, playwrights, singers, and actors.  To date I’ve done 74 interviews.  Initially, I wanted a call-in show but I couldn’t entice anyone to call except the station staff and I didn’t think that was honest.
I ask each guest to provide a bio of 100 words or less that I read on air to introduce them to the audience.  My policy is not to share questions with my guest prior to the show.  I don’t want any “rehearsed” answers.  I have a reputation for an easy going conversational style interview.  I tell my guests it is like meeting an old friend for coffee and catching up.  Most of my guests feel it is a “fun” experience.

I have won the Best of the Midwest Media Fest Achievement Award for three consecutive years.
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I close every show with a list of events at the library the next week and a thank you to the station’s primary underwriter.
Check it out:  www.sunprairiemediacenter.com
 

I have a six year old grandson in kindergarten.  He loves school and loves having a lot of friends.  Recently he has taken to knowing addition.  Last weekend he told us that sixty minutes plus thirty minutes was 90 minutes.  I was thrilled that he shared his knowledge and how he arrived at the right answer.
Yet, he is also still a child.  Every time he stays for the weekend he insists on bringing his blue blankie and his stuffies (stuffed animals and other creatures).  The boy sleeps with no fewer than six stuffies.
The last time he stayed for the weekend he spread his blue blankie on the living room floor as the first step in building a sofa cushion fort.  He went to his bedroom for something and when he returned our cat, Ivy, was stretched out on the blanket and rubbed her face in it.
Lee shrieked with joy and made sure all of us knew that Ivy had taken over the soon to be built fort area.
Later in the afternoon Lee asked for some paper and my good pen.  He sat down at the coffee table and began writing letters. I asked him “Lee, are you writing?”

“I am writing a book.  This is chapter one.”  The first two letters were ‘BL’ which meant ‘Book Lee’.  Next were a string of letters – ‘GR, R, P, V’ which are symbols for Gram, Ross (his brother) Papa O 9 (me) and V (Vivian – his cousin).  That was it – chapter one was finished, he taped the page to a piece of furniture.

The next day he asked for a piece of paper and the special pen and told me he was writing chapter 2 of his book. He sounded out ‘Lee and Ross with us and a few more letters I don’t understand.  He taped the second chapter to a piece of furniture.

When it was time for Lee to return to his home I asked if he wanted to take his book home.  No, he taped it to the refrigator door to work on it the next weekend he had a stay over.
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Guess we’ll have another writer in the family.  He has a fantastic start.     

Growing up parental control watching TV was very easy – either I could or I couldn’t.  The TV was the largest piece of furniture in our small living room and Mom & Dad had complete control over what programs I watched.  In those days I only recall having four channels so the choice was limited.  Choice was also determined by the direction the antenna on the roof was facing.  In my case the antenna pointed northwest toward Chicago.  I still recall the first innovation in having more TV channels was to install a motor on the antenna so you could rotate it.

We had a Saturday night TV watching routine.  In the early evening Dad would make a huge pan of popcorn smothered in real butter and salt accompanied by a glass of Pepsi.  We would gather together in the living room with our popcorn and watch TV.  One of the Saturday night favorites was Perry Mason.  This TV program led me to want to be a lawyer when I grew up.
Today, METV is replaying the black and white Perry Mason episodes.  I can’t remember any of the episodes from my elementary school days – so for me they are fresh.

 The writer in me has noticed there is a pattern or formula to each episode.  The first scene sets up a conflict and Perry isn’t involved yet.  The second scene somebody dies as a result Perry shows up or someone goes to his office to get his help.  Perry is always involved in the investigation.  His strategy is simple – find the real killer – not his client.
The series ran for nine years, I believe, because viewers new what to expect.  Yes, it was a formula – so what.  I thought about a few of the most successful commercial authors – Patterson, King, Rowling, Picoult, and others.  Readers know exactly what their books will be – the style, the language, themes, even topics.

While I have published the Irish Troubles Trilogy the protagonist and the setting are consistent but the rest varies by theme, style and point of view.
Honestly, I have never aspired to be a successful commercial author.  I don’t have the desire or interest for that writing path.  It requires complete devotion to only writing.  I have other important activities like grandchildren, volunteer work, being in a play reading group, European travel and many others.
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While I learned an important lesson watching Perry Mason, I’ve chosen not to follow it in my life.