The Jan/Feb 2016 issue of Blue Ridge Country magazine has hit the streets and it is bigger than usual. It’s the travel issue, telling you all about wonderful places to visit in our area. Call it our vacation planner issue. Anyway, my travel-themed column is ready for you online and I hope you enjoy it. It includes a recipe, a first for me. Of course, it’s a pie recipe. Y’all know me. Here’s the link.
http://blueridgecountry.com/newsstand/mill-creek-stories/the-car-wants-to-go-to-north-carolina/
My latest column is on the streets now in the May/June 2015 issue of Blue Ridge Country magazine. It is also online in the digital version. This column is entitled “It Takes A Village” and once again, I was lucky enough to get Joseph Mackereth to provide a lovely illustration to support the piece. The link to the column is:
http://blueridgecountry.com/newsstand/mill-creek-stories/it-takes-a-village/
I try to be funny. Really, I do. But sometimes I have no clue how my ideas are being received. My writing has sometimes caused people to unfriend me on Facebook. I have gotten bizarre comments on my blog. I got yelled at for something I said when I thought I was complimenting the person. I can be an absolute idiot. I can unwittingly take awkward to whole new levels in public. Sometimes I am just trying on new ideas, see if they stand up to being said aloud. Sometimes I have formed opinions that do differ wildly from others. Sometimes, I am just going for the joke. That’s okay. Differences make life interesting. It’s a “to each his own” kind of thing. Everybody has a batshit crazy section in their brains. Some of us open the door and air it out more often than others, maybe more often than we really should. Doesn’t mean a thing, though.
But today, my heart aches as I am reminded that some people are too damaged to understand when someone is just joking. The news that a dozen people were killed in my favorite city, Paris, only because they worked for a magazine that published satire takes me to a dark place. I just do not understand what has happened.
The satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo sometimes focused on uncomfortable topics, as it should have. That’s the beauty of satire. It amuses while turning a spot light on religion, the government, egos, big business, the holy cows that flourish only when unexamined and unquestioned.
The editor, “Charb” Charbonnier, who was also one of the magazine’s cartoonists, was killed along with his police bodyguard. He was once asked why he continued to hit issues that he knew would draw ire. He answered that he preferred to die on his feet than live on his knees.
Ironically, just this past November Charlie Hebdo requested financial assistance to avoid bankruptcy. Now, instead of the usual 60,000 issues it will publish one million copies of the next issue (14 Jan 2015) in defiance. It is being called the “survivor” issue.
A makeshift memorial is growing in front of the Charlie Hebdo offices. In addition to the de rigueur candles, note cards, and stuffed animals, people are leaving pens. Hundreds of pens. Pens, the most dangerous tool on the planet, strong enough to shake people’s core values, mighty enough to topple governments, are being left in memory of cartoonists and writers at a humor magazine.
My condolences to the survivors. My condolences to the city of Paris. My condolences to the friends and families left behind. Joking just got real, y’all.
I have announced this on Facebook and on the Southern Humorists home page, so if you’ve seen this before I apologize for the repeat. No I don’t, I’m really excited about all this and will probably announce it again in December. Go Team Molly!
I have been hired as a columnist for Blue Ridge Country magazine. My column, entitled “Mill Creek Stories,” will replace the retiring Elizabeth Hunter’s “From the Farm” column. Elizabeth’s column ran for more than 20 years, so I’m thinking this is going to be a long-term gig.
My first piece will appear in the January/February issue and is about stray cats and the people they adopt. Those who know me well know that I can not resist telling a good animal yarn so I am starting out with one of my favorite topics.
Here is a link to the magazine’s web site so you can explore. If you live in the Georgia to Virginia band of states, this regional magazine is especially for you. It is chock-full of interesting information about local sites, people, food, and events plus it has stunning photographs. If you are just interested in things Southern, you’ll also enjoy Blue Ridge Country. I hope you’ll follow my stories and let me know what you think.
http://www.blueridgecountry.com
Less Than Ladylike 