If you could have any talent, what would it be?

When I was a child, my best friend across the street and I decided we wanted to be writers when we grew up.  Of course, in true child-like fashion, we were dreaming about being publicly-acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize winning novelists.  We began writing stories, and I remember beginning a book about a family that had 14 children. When I was stumped for a title, I asked my dad for his opinion. With his trademark, dad-like sense of humor, he suggested, “Fourteen is Too Many,” and that became the name of my never-to-be completed book.

In third grade, I submitted an entry for an ending to the story contest with Jack and Jill Magazine. I have vague memories that the story was about children giving a present to their mother, and my ending was that it was a photo of themselves.  I was a runner-up winner of the contest, Jack and Jill Magazine sent me a certificate “suitable for framing” and I was written up in a short article in the local paper, The Farmington Observer.  I remember the title of the article was “8-year-old cited for writing skills.”  My 3^rd grade teacher, Mrs. Joy, had me bring my award and the article to school for Show and Tell.  Ironically, I received that award in the mail on the same day that I came down with the mumps. Ah, the highs and lows of an 8-year-old’s life all wrapped up into one day!

As a freshman in college, I took a creative writing class and the scary thing was that we had to share our writings with the entire class and we’d all critique them.  My most memorable story was a short biography about my Grandfather Simmons and how he operated his apple orchard and coped with everyday life despite being legally blind. I think I still have that story tucked away someplace. One of my peers in class happened to be from Novi and recognized my grandfather through my story. I took that as a huge compliment.

Now, as an adult, I’ve modified my original dreams. I’d still like to be a writer and hone my writing skills, but my goal is more in the way of personal writings. I have collaborated on a genealogy on the Riley side of my family, but that was more of a detailed research project than an exercise in creative writing. For my parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary, I wrote a funny limerick about their life together. When my dad died, I wrote about him and described his personality for the handout at the memorial service, and for Father’s Day 2010 I wrote a tribute to him. But I’d like to do much more writing. If I ever write something that could be published and would appeal to the public, it would be a fantastic bonus.