Me at 30's Arc

Chapter 3 of 7

The kids asked for a new story about Racum Raccoon every night now. I wrote them after work, sitting at the picnic table while they played in the sandbox. But I started wondering if other kids might like them too. I typed out three stories on the computer at work during my lunch break and mailed them to a local newspaper that ran a children's section. I didn't tell anyone. The rejection would be easier to handle if no one knew I'd tried. Two weeks later I opened the mailbox and found a copy of the paper with a note clipped to it. They'd published one of my stories. My name was printed right there under the title. I showed the kids at dinner. They wanted to cut it out and hang it on the trailer wall. I said we should save it properly instead. That weekend I bought a scrapbook at the dollar store and glued the clipping onto the first page. The kids asked if I'd write more stories for the newspaper. I said I'd try. The newspaper sent a check three days later. Fifteen dollars. It wasn't much, but it was something I'd earned by writing instead of watching the clock at work. I deposited it and wrote two more stories that night. The kids didn't know yet, but that fifteen dollars meant I could give them something extra this month. Maybe not much. But more than before.