I encounter a lot of people who recognize me because my picture runs with my column. I don’t know many of these people, but they frequently say hello and often comment on a column that they particularly liked.

That kind of feedback from readers is the most rewarding part of being a writer and gives me incentive to keep writing. It gives me a sense of purpose, and it really makes me feel good when someone says they got such a chuckle from my most recent column. I like making people laugh.

There are times, however, when my minor notoriety can put me in some awkward situations. For example, on a few occasions my husband has been approached by a reader who has remarked about something I wrote about him.

Poor Henry never knows how to respond because he has no idea what the person is talking about. I like to think I have a few fans here and there, but I know that Henry isn’t one of them. He is among the humor-impaired part of the population and never reads my columns.

So, when people do approach him with a comment, he will question me, let me know in no uncertain terms that he is not happy with me and make me promise to never write about him again. You can see how well that works out.

Then there are readers who have an experience that they think would be a great subject for a column and they let me know about it. Getting ideas from others is wonderful and I certainly welcome them. God only knows that after more than 20 years of writing The Way I See It I could use some fresh ideas.

Unfortunately, things that happen to others, no matter how funny they may be, are very difficult for me to write about. If I have not had a similar experience myself, I have no point of reference and just can’t write about it. Then the next time I encounter the person they’re a little ticked off at me because they haven’t read their “column” yet.

And there are times when someone will share a really great idea but by itself just isn’t enough. I’ll need to do a little research or wait until I have another idea that will dovetail with the one given to me before I can write about. These people get a little ticked off, too, until they eventually see their idea in print.

Very recently a lady stopped me in the supermarket and greeted me like we are old friends and that’s very nice because I like friendly people. My new friend went into great detail about something she had done, chuckling through the whole telling of her story.

I had no idea why she was telling me this story or even what it was really about. Being polite and not wanting to offend a potential new friend, I listened intently hoping I would pick up a fragment that would make sense to me. The more she laughed in the telling the more I laughed in response even though I failed to see the humor.

Later that day it hit me that my new friend had done something that I had written about a long time ago and had the same result I did. Putting her story in context made it a funny story, but at the time I just couldn’t reach back 100 or so columns ago to get the point.

I really enjoy writing and I truly hope that many of you enjoy reading what I write. If you have ideas I’d love to hear them, but please be patient if you don’t see it in print right away. If you have had a funny experience, I’d love to hear about it, but it may not be something that I can ever write about, so please don’t be offended.

I hope that most of the time the way I see it is the same way you see it too. And, if I should write something about my husband, please don’t tell him because he certainly won’t see it that way at all!

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