The Things In Life That Inspire Us
When I was a full-time newspaper editor I always gave simple advice to those who wrote columns: “Write about what you know and write about what you enjoy doing.”
One of the toughest things about column writing is often coming up with an idea. That’s the case with me. If I have an idea for a column then I have always believed half the battle was over. The remaining part was simply trying to piece something together that someone (anyone) might want to read.
When you have written columns as long as I have (going back to the early 1990s) the idea well does run a little low from time to time. Like most aspects of the newspaper business once I have completed a column there is a sense of relief and accomplishment. Not long after that, however, a bell starts ringing that serves as a reminder that it is time to start formulating a new idea.
In 2008 it became twice as tough to formulate ideas because I wrote a weekly news and weekly sports column. The sports columns are not as difficult because a sports writer can always write about what is transpiring currently, whether on the field or the court or even behind the scenes.
News columns are typically tougher. In following my own advice I have written numerous times about my years growing up in small town America and how that helped shaped me into the person (and writer) I am today. I’ve written about the decade of the 1980s and how I consider that time special and to be my formative years.
I’ve written about politics and more specifically political campaigns. My love of politics is actually rooted in the actual race for a particular office. Most politicians don’t do what they promise while campaigning any way so most of the time I lose interest after we vote.
Like all of us I do have my political opinions but to be honest the political climate is so vile and ugly now it has caused me to stop watching the news at night. The idea of objective news coverage has been destroyed by the cable television programs which use opinioned talk show hosts to shape people’s opinion. Unfortunately many people are nothing more than sheep and follow along with whatever is said that goes in step with their political leanings.
One of my favorite topics to write about through the years has been family. I have always known I have been blessed with a supportive family which starts but certainly does not end with my parents. I had the positive influence of all four grandparents for the first 18 years of my life and that influence continued even longer by some of them.
In addition I have benefited from the positive examples set by aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles and even from my younger sibling. With that many positive influences around me there is really no excuse for me not to do well in my life.
Friendship is also something I have written about through the years, mainly because I value it so much. Two of my closest friends in the year 2018 have been so since we were kids and that has been quite a length of time now. I am proud of that though. Friendship is not an easy thing to continue through the years. We move apart and while it is certainly easier to keep in touch these days the human nature part of us all causes us to neglect friendship, especially long distance ones.
Friendship can also not work as a one-way street. One person cannot make a friendship work. That is also something I am proud of when it comes to my close friends. While I always make it an effort to be there for them, they also do the same for me and that is a beneficial thing as we travel down the road of life which will always be filled with bumps and potholes.
Pets have also been a multi-time topic in my columns. Growing up with pets I continued that tradition once I started living on my own. They do become like children as you’ve heard people say. The only down part of having pets is knowing that one day we will have to say goodbye to them. That part never gets easier.
Ocean scenes, the mountains, a clear, sunny day and sitting at a local state park have also been the inspiration for columns I’ve typed. I’ve written about it raining too much (several times) and I once wrote a three-part column about my days as a newspaper intern while in college. It’s still hard to believe that was so long ago.
Good writing simply needs something to inspire the person behind the keyboard. Some columns write themselves almost. Some take more effort but each writer hopes they connect with at least one reader.
That is my goal each time I sit down to start this process again. And if you ever have any good ideas then feel free to pass them along to me.
Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long time newspaper columnist and has earned awards for column writing from the Georgia Press Association, the Georgia Sports Writers Association and the National Newspaper Association. He welcomes feedback from readers at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.