From the Heart

Many years ago I started writing a column for our local newspaper. I called it Byrd?s Eye View. I know, not very original, but it seemed to fit?go figure.

I was pumping out my thoughts, cruising right along, enjoying myself, when a great idea for a column popped into my head. I?d write about the up-coming presidential election. I don?t remember the year, but it was when Ross Perot was running.

What ever possessed me to think I knew enough about politics to do this remains a mystery to me. Anyway, I handed the finished article to the publisher of the paper and went back to my office. A short time later my phone buzzed and the publisher said, ?Sarah, may I see you for a minute.?

I could usually tell what kind of meeting I was to have with the publisher by the tone of his voice.? This time however, I was a bit confused. When I sat down in his office I saw my column laying in front of him. I thought, ?oh boy, he?s going to tell me how much he enjoyed it, or? oh no, was I bashing his party??

But it was neither. The publisher, simply said? ?Sarah, write about what you know.? And he handed my column back to me. Nothing else needed to be said, I got it, and he was exactly right.

I tucked my tail between my legs and licked my wounds for a while, then picked up my pen. There have been many other times I?ve tried to be, or do something I?m not, and I probably will again. But the wonderful thing about being half a century old is? I have learned so much about myself. That publisher taught me many things. Some I took in and stored for later use, some I threw by the wayside.

Now, twenty years later I want to share a bit of wisdom with that ?publisher? and the rest of the world. It?s not just, ?write about what you know.? More importantly, it?s writing about what your heart knows!