
I just finished watching Julie & Julia this weekend and I can relate. Not to the obsessive foodie schtick Julie was doing but to the tiny bit of hero worship Julie had toward Julia Child. Heck, who couldn't love a gregarious 6ft woman who made the process of cooking funny and relatable? While Erma wasn't quite 6ft, she did bring the plight of the housewife under a glaring and hilarious spotlight for years. My favorite columns included toasting herself with a cocktail for having another "no baby" month and picking a baby pacifier out of the garbage, covered in coffee grounds, only to rinse it off and give it back to Junior. Seriously. This woman taught me a healthy portion of how to handle raising five daughters (and not a therapy bill in sight for them or me).
So it is with great affection that I faithfully enter the
Erma Bombeck Writing Competition for the last few years. Do I win, no. Come close. Not even. But every time I enter (it was my very first competition as a professional writer) it reminds me that I'm writing for an audience of folks very much like myself - real, struggling, imperfect people that laugh during the hard times and embrace the good times with gusto.
So, who's with me?
Competition starts: January 4, 2010
Cost: free
Length: 450 words or less
Theme: Humor or Human Interest
For more information on how to enter, click on the link above and good luck!