On The Wry Side

Some twenty-seven years ago, I was asked by a newspaper editor to give a title to a weekly column I had commenced writing. He seemed displeased when I gave him the name, "On The Wry Side."

I thought it was an acceptable title for a column that was going to contain some humor, parody, and satire. The editor, however, seemed uncomfortable with it and requested another title.

I asked him why he didn't like "On The Wry Side?"

"Well," he responded, "I get what you're driving at....I mean....you know...like a sandwich...right?...with, like observations between the slices?"

"Huh? Where do you get that?" I asked.

"Well, you know --- wry bread, a side of a slice of wry... a slice of life column...right?"

It was at that moment I realized that my editor could not spell.

He was the first of three editors to fire me over the next twenty-one years. Some of them could spell and some couldn't. But, across the board, none of them could see the value in the stories in which I believed most deeply.

They fancied that they, the Editors, actually selected the most newsworthy stories for public edification.

In that, they were delusional.

The world around them was undergoing profound cultural changes. All they could see were the traffic accidents, brawls and scandals that took place inside the larger story that was going untold.

Now, thanks to Bill Gates, Google, and a plethora of geeks, I get to be my own editor. I am hoping I don't miss the 'larger story,' and I want to know what you think.

And - thanks for reading.

~ Jim Anderson