Wow fall went by in a whirl. Here in the Southern Tier the lead up to Thanksgiving seems to be even busier than the lead up to Christmas.
I guess that's part of growing older, things do seem to move quickly.
I still have not gotten to a chicken and biscuit dinner, but I did enjoy the Choconut Center United Methodist Church harvest supper very much. I also really enjoyed meeting the women at the Holly Day Festival at Our Lady of Good Council in Endicott. Finally I had a really fun time at the Community Neighbors Connecting cookie swap in New Milford, PA.
I have reunited on facebook with folks I knew 10, 20, and even 40 years ago. Seeing how these people developed is remarkable and surprising. One former co-worker was always pretty but she has bloomed into a drop dead gorgeous model. I don't know how she did it, what she ate, or how she exercised, but I am beyond impressed, I am inspired. She is changing my idea of what it mean to age.
People ask me all the time how I like it here.
"Just fine," I answer. It's hard to wrap it all up in a sentence. I am no longer "new in town," so I now begin the real work of truly getting to know a place and people. Finding how you fit into a community takes time and effort.
I was really happy to get to go to Owego, if only for a public hearing. I am looking forward to a more substantial visit soon.
It is a quirky part of my nature, I get a child-like wave of delight just getting to see new places. My favorite part of reporting is the permission you get to speak to anyone. Even a truck stop on a snowy night can have it's charm. People never fail to surprise me.
I don't know a single news anchor who doesn't have a little bit of an ego. When I meet people who enjoy watching my newscasts it's the best feeling ever. Still, I can enjoy meeting people who don't own a television, or (gasp) watch the competition.
Finally I am very excited to start teaching a public speaking class at the American Civic Association on January 5th. I plan on taking my "media training" techniques and helping students there learn to enjoy expressing themselves. I was hoping for 4-8 students and ended up with 15!
So 2010 has been a year of epic change for me. Let's see what 2011 might bring.
Happy New Year!
Suzanne
