My friend and I were sitting on stools at the counter of our favorite cidery, and we got into a conversation with the two people next to us. Paula Nicewanger (your paper’s Creative Director) and I have a standing date to spend Saturday afternoons at the cidery, but this was a Sunday, and our “assigned seats” were occupied by others. We settled in on other stools and were soon sharing tasting notes and cidery history with the couple next to us. Jeff and Amy were new subscribers to the cider produced by our favorite house, having visited only two times previously. At some point during the give and take of our interaction, it was disclosed that Paula was a co-owner/publisher of the Weekly View, and that I was (ahem) a writer for that same pub. Amy asked about what I wrote; I stammered, and Paula branded me a “humorist.” We gave a condensed version of how I had been conscripted into writing. But it has been a wonderful 15 years spent dishing out 600 words per week, and I am grateful to both the publishers and the readers. My e-mail address is at the bottom of my column, and occasionally, I will receive an e-mail from a reader. These are some of the ones that I got in the year 2024.
On January 19th, 2024, Rose Evaris wrote to me, saying that she planned to read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. My column had noted that book as one of my reads; she also agreed with me about not talking on the phone while in the potty.
March 26th brought me a note from my neighbor Patty Brown. She cited a column that I had written that mentioned singer/songwriter George Benson (a family friend) and wrote that she had been born in Philadelphia, Pa.
Yul Meade Butler wrote to me on tax day, April 15th. I had written a column about my birding experiences, and he loved how I “(tied) birding to culture challenges, humanity, family, friendship, the outdoors and film.” Later that month, on April 26th, Vicky Sholty wrote what she called “a note of appreciation;” she and her husband enjoy my “variety of topics … reminiscences (to which they can relate) my writing style and … way with words.”
July 3rd brought a note from Brian Callahan; he had read a column that I wrote about the books I read and gave me some recommendations for others. I have read and owned some of the books on his list, and at last year’s Benton House Book Sale, acquired some others. A column that I wrote that was published in August 2016, was reposted in August 2024. “Out Of Tune” cited the political climate of those years, and on August 13th, 2024, Doug O’Donnell, a friend to my former brother-in-law, wrote to me, saying succinctly that I had “nailed it,” and “said it with respect.”
Clare Skeehan closed my year of e-mails; Skeehan had found a 2023 column I had written about “All That Jazz.” Skeehan asked If I knew of Mark Whitaker’s book, Smoketown: The Untold Story of The Other Great Black Renaissance. (I own the book.) Clare wrote about learning much about the Hill District that nurtured me when I was young, which was much different from the Ben Avon neighborhood where Skeehan played drums in the St. Benedict Academy concert band. Skeehan signed off, “Another Pittsburgher.”
I appreciate that the staff of the Weekly View allow me to write for their publication, but I am always surprised and humbled to hear from the readers.
Thanks for reading.
cjon3acd@att.net