20 Years of Writing this Column and Other Milestones

This year is an auspicious one for the Grutzmacher family. In the spring, my little sister, Alison, will turn 50 years of age; a few weeks later, I will turn 55; and this summer my mother will turn 80. Of somewhat lesser importance, and what I was unaware of until recently, is that 2013 marks my 20th year writing a column in Door County.

I confess that the upcoming birthdays this year are fun in the sense that they measure a passage of time and experience on the planet; there is also something a bit surreal about the number of years associated with each. Obviously, there are days when my body feels more worn down than I would like and there are a myriad of things I either cannot do anymore or cannot do at the same level. But most of the time I feel much younger than a soon-to-be 55 years of age. The notion that my little sister will have been on the planet for 50 years seems impossible and my mother turning 80 seems positively ludicrous – she is just a vibrant, feisty, opinionated, and intelligent as she ever been.

So while the birthdays this year are somewhat significant, I can accept these as measures of time without placing undo importance on their arrival and passage.

But then there is the matter of writing a column more or less steadily for 20 years – this one I am having a little trouble wrapping my head around.

As most of you know, this column originated in the pages of the Door Reminder and appeared in each weekly edition for most of 11 years, before moving over to its current home (and last home – since I do not plan on leaving until I depart the planet) in the pages of the Peninsula Pulse.

I have touched on various aspects of this column’s history in the past, but I always make of point of acknowledging Paul Burton who suggested that I write a column to Lon Kopitzke and Bob Pohl, and expressing appreciation to the latter two for giving me a chance.

One thing that I don’t recollect ever mentioning was that it was my father who suggested the name of the column, “An Outlook.” I confess that I was not thrilled with this suggestion at the outset. Over the years, however, I have come to appreciate the flexibility it has given me in the subjects I write about. The name has also provided the opportunity to maintain continuity even when I have had others write the column. My daughter, Molly, wrote a column for me years ago and other guest columnists have included my close friend and sometimes research assistant, Caslon Bold; his wife, Ultima; another friend, Franklin Gothic; and last, but never least, my aged friend Melvin Coolbreeze.

The very first “Outlook” column appeared on January 25, 1994 and talked about home news media sensationalized disasters by giving their coverage of the event(s) titles. It referenced hurricane Andrew, Amy Fisher, the Melendez brothers, and Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan. In other words, it was a very long time ago. Other, than the aforementioned references, however, the subject matter has held up surprisingly well and could – with the references changed to the more contemporary, be as accurate today as is was then – whether you agree with the opinions expressed or not.

Over the years, I have written on national, regional, and local news and events; I have reported on word and phrase origins; I have beset readers with all manner of numbers and statistics; and I have written eulogies of international, national, and local individuals – including my father. And, in one of my more self-indulgent columns, I actually asked my wife, Barb, to marry me. This February will mark our 15th anniversary – another significant number in the coming year.

Of course, I have irritated and angered my fair share of readers through the years (the Putrid Poetry Contest, when I challenged people to write the worst poem they could, comes to mind, and some people just couldn’t step back and have a little fun). Indeed, I remember Bob Pohl pointing out to Lon Kopitzke one day, after Lon became tired of fielding angry calls about my column, that I was hired to write something people would read – and maybe talk about – and if people were calling about my column then I was fulfilling the job I was hired to do.

So where am I going with all of this? Well, in honor (or dishonor, depending on whether you like this column or not) I am going to offer you the opportunity to remember some of your favorite columns from the past years. Let me know when you see me at the post office, in my bookstore, or via email what column sticks most in your mind and I will periodically, during the course of the year, re-print one of your favorites.

Perhaps you liked my column about a former Door County Chamber of Commerce director in a bar fight. Maybe you liked my column about the bookstore patron who was dismayed that I didn’t carry magazines in my store or (more recently) the patron who wanted a book to tell her how to use her Amazon Kindle; one of the fables, possibly the one about the businessman, Mr. Penny, or the cricket that liked to sing in the daytime; or maybe the you remember a certain April Fool’s column about a plan to attract winter business to Door County or the quiz where I listed all the potential side-effects of certain drugs and you had to correctly identify the drugs; and there was the column about Stephen King coming to stay with my mother while he recuperated from his automobile accident and all those columns about dogs at Door County festivals.

Whatever you remember from this column that stuck in your memory (or craw) let me know and I will consider running it again during the course of the coming year amid the new columns that I will be writing.