Stories in all of us

Sometimes in the summer, I hate my job because it gets sooo boring. Since I primarily cover education, school being out for the summer = tres very bored Mary. Mary writes lots of filler pieces in the summer.

But sometimes, I get to write about the coolest stuff. And it makes me remember that I really do love my job. This week I got to hang out with our local cobbler (shoe repairman for those not down with the lingo), and he was just the neatest guy. I have always been fascinated by his shop. You walk in it and it just smells like leather and shoe polish. It's the coolest thing. I got to spend a couple of hours just hanging out with this guy and watching him fix broken heels, sew pieces of leather and glue soles together. It was really, really fascinating. He talked to me about how shoe repair shops are a dying business -- as are many specialized mom-and-pop businesses, which made me really sad.

And then yesterday, I got to interview this guy who's 68 years old and digs graves by hand! Who knew that anyone even still did that?? He was the neatest guy and told lots of neat stories about his life. He's seen and done quite a lot in his lifetime -- from boxing in his younger days to getting shot by a family friend! It's the stories like these that I live for and that make me glad to be a writer. It's these people whose stories I long to tell.

Never let me tell you that I don't love what I do.