Auntie K starts chasing you, and then Apologizes And Various Other Things

The number one question I’ve been asked since starting at the PCN has been whether or not we would bring back the “People on the Street” feature, made famous by the legendary Anti Mary Ann Dooner, and later, the infamous John Degal. Honestly, you have no idea how much this idea tickled me because I started practicing for that very job fifteen years ago.

It’s how I met Kathryn Hofer. One night, for some reason, I felt the need to walk around with a clip-board, (or was it a stack of bar napkins? It’s hard to say.) randomly asking people, “What do . . . ?”

Kathryn’s is the only answer that survives in my memory. She didn’t skip a beat. She just looked me straight in the eye and said in her not-quite-but-maybe challenging tone:

“Why don’t you just do it yourself?”

I knew I loved her right away. We giggled about it when I saw her in Saco over Labor Day weekend, and it got me thinking . . . you know, maybe it’s time to start listening to the woman before she finally makes good on her threats to kick my butt. Why don’t I just do it myself?

It also got me thinking about all of the characters of Phillips County that are just iconic for one reason or another. The Louie Perrys, the Linda Robinsons, the Lloyd Lefdahls, and also the Kathryn Hofers and Tom Goliks – those unforgettable personalities that helped shape this place and those that continue to do so.

So, I think we should try and see how it goes, and I am going to give you a head start this time. So who comes to mind for you? I just might ask you . . . when I see you in the street. Nope. That doesn’t work. I might just ask you how to rename a classic, too. I’ll never be Anti MaryAnn, so don’t run from me. I am not very fast. By the way, I really do have a clipboard now. Bar napkins just don’t stand the test of time.

Before I start chasing you down the street, I want to ask for your forgiveness for a few things. It start-ed with my very first headline when apparently the Malta EMS crew put on their masks and Recessed and Raided a bunch of cash at the KMMR Radiothon. They did not.

I’ll take creative ways the new girl incorrectly spells Raised for 1,000 Alec. (Ding Ding Ding!)

The very next week, after successfully completing my first interview with the Simpson family and feel-ing really good about the article, I submitted the wrong draft.

No, Larry didn’t go all the way to Texas on the Big Drive of ’89. He did travel from the Canadian border to Billings which is pretty darned hardcore. His granddaughter is Laynee, not Lainie, and she 13, not, “9 (?)”. Andy Mueller was from Germany, which is a small detail but it does make their trip to Oktoberfest make a heck of a lot more sense.

I was seriously so mortified, and so sorry. Looking back on it, I think the whole family should just roll with my version. People would totally buy that he rode all the way to Texas, he’s pretty hardcore. And Laynee, in my defense, you are still three and I am still 35 in my mind, and when you are old like me, you could use the article as evidence if you ever want to shave a few years off.

Please believe me that we are trying to do better each week and that my dumb mistakes make me cringe, but big mistakes are the ones that I dread making. We are all learning new skills here (Well, Pierre pretty much has it down, but he’s learning to handle Mark and me as best as he can.)

Thanks for bearing with us as we do, and give us a break when you can. I mean, “horseshow” was pretty funny. I know quite a few of you out there that would be so disappointed if we got it right each week. But please, when we do mess up in a big way, please let me know so I can apologize in person and correct the record. See you in the funny pages!