Our nerves buzz with anxiety for different reasons.
For some people, giving a speech — whether to high school classmates, co-workers or the Rotary Club — makes their hands tremble. Others develop a nervous tic when they discover, at 6:45 in the morning, that the coffee can is empty. Yet for many, the most unsettling nonviolent predicament in life is the prospect of facing a blank sheet of paper with pen in hand (or an empty text box on a computer screen with fingers resting on the keyboard).
Writing feels dangerous. It exposes our mind. Thinking is one thing; etching our thoughts into a notebook or a Microsoft Word document is another story, literally. (And I literally mean “literally.”)
Mike Lunsford makes that process look far easier than its reality.
It is pure coincidence that the release of his third book, “A Place Near Home,” occurs in the same month as the third-annual National Day on Writing. That celebration on Thursday toasts “the significance of writing in our national life,” according to its founding organization, the National Writing Project.
The significance of writing in Lunsford’s life becomes obvious as a reader flows through the 59 stories inside “A Place Near Home.” He finds stories in people, places and things most of us overlook. A power outage. A roadkill skunk. Dragonflies. Coyotes. An ice storm. Hedge apples and road apples. A belated thank-you. Walking at night. Each tale originally appeared as an installment of Lunsford’s popular “The Off Season” column published in the Tribune-Star. His words have captivated the newspaper’s readers since 1995, exploring those simple themes with every ounce of his five senses.
The story of his Grandpa Roy exemplifies the power of description.
“Memories of my grandfather will never travel far from me; he was my best friend,” Lunsford writes. “As long as I can write words on paper, he will float through them, not as a ghost who haunts, but as a companion.”
Later, Lunsford details his grandfather’s passion for the outdoors. “I knew when I saw him sitting on the tailgate of his truck, peeling his socks off and rolling up his pants’ legs, that he planned to use his fly rod and wade the creek,” Lunsford recalls. “His fly rod might as well have been a magician’s wand, because I never learned how to use it.”
The ability to express perceptions and ideas through the written word can be innate or acquired. Lunsford knows from experience. He’s taught English, as well as American history, at Riverton Parke High School since its doors first opened. One obstacle in learning to write well, for 21st-century students, is the competition for their attention. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, apps and ChaCha. Questions get answered in seconds on Google.
It’s hard to get a youngster — or even a mildly tech-savvy adult — to sacrifice the time and effort to smell the roses. Or the sassafras, an act deftly described by Lunsford in his “The Hunt for a Red October” column: “All summer long I walk past those trees, sometimes snapping off the end of a twig as I lope by so I can hold it under my nose. It has a scent that takes me all the way back to my first home place, to a pocketknife and the whittled end of a green, speckled stick.”
You can’t Google that.
“What we are losing is our willingness and ability to pay attention to things,” Lunsford said in an interview last week. “And I think writing is a reflection of paying attention. We’ve created so many avenues where we don’t have to be patient anymore.”
The need for strong writing in not only schools, but also the workplace, is high. In a 2007 survey by the National Writing Project, two-thirds of the 1,501 Americans polled considered writing skills essential to success in college. And 74 percent believed good writing is essential to occupational success “regardless of what type of job it is.” By a margin of 2 to 1, those surveyed preferred putting more resources into helping instructors teach writing, rather than committing those same resources into testing students to discover how well they are learning to write, according to the NWP.
As the project puts it, we all are writers, whether it happens on a Facebook status update, a job application or in an email to the boss. A computer expert writes directions on operating a piece of software. Investment brokers write earnings reports. In each case, the message must be “put into language that lay people can understand,” Sharon Washington, executive director of the National Writing Project, said by telephone Friday.
Lunsford, always humble and self-effacing, insists the graceful simplicity of his writing occurs by necessity. “I think my column is easy to read because I’m hardly an intellectual,” he said.
Creating clear, concise and yet picturesque sentences requires talent and polish. The reader benefits and doesn’t have to break a sweat just to reach the next paragraph.
“If you’ve got to work at what you’re reading, you’re going to find something else to read,” Lunsford said.
His penchant for storytelling in 800 words or less is rooted in his newspaper background. Lunsford’s first foray into journalism came as a sportswriter for the Terre Haute Tribune during his college days at Indiana State University. After graduating and beginning his teaching career, he agreed in 1995 to write a basketball column twice a month for the Tribune-Star. His gift of narrating life’s simple pleasures quickly emerged, and his column evolved beyond hoops and into its current format.
That space occupied by Lunsford’s mugshot and ruminations is finite. Its limit forces focus. That structure suits him just fine.
“That’s the beauty of newspaper writing,” he said. “You get a lot out of that space.”
It’s a blessing for readers that Lunsford has the gumption and the knack to fill it.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star columnist Mike Lunsford's third book, "A Place Near Home," is available at BookNation in Terre Haute. (Submitted photo)
-
This latest collection of Mike Lunsford's Tribune-Star columns constitutes his third book, following "The Off Season: The Newspaper Stories of Mike Lunsford" and "Sidelines: The Best of the Basketball Stories." (Submitted photo)
Discussion
MARK BENNETT: The significance of writing: T-S columnist Mike Lunsford pens third book
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Gregg introduces State Sen. Vi Simpson as choice for lieutenant governor
Indiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg this afternoon introduced State Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, as his running mate for the 2012 election.
-
Car pinned under school bus in Greene County crash
Police say a car plowed into the back of a school bus stopped on a southern Indiana highway, with the car’s entire engine compartment ending up lodged underneath the bus.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 22, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
Grrrr-ateful for donation
K-9 Officers Jasper, Luka, Diesel and Carón didn’t like the snarls and growls coming from a “burglar” on Monday morning at Sarah Scott Middle School.
-
After possible TB case, school faces health tests
A suspected case of tuberculosis at Woodrow Wilson Middle School has prompted health authorities to provide free TB testing next Tuesday for students and staff at the eastside Terre Haute school.
-
Fallen Officer Long gains largest THPD honors
Officer Brent Long, who died last summer in the line of duty, was named Terre Haute Police Officer of the Year at Monday night’s THPD Recognition and Commendation dinner.
-
1,261.5 Miles Per Gallon
A Terre Haute South Vigo High School team earned first place in the “unlimited class” category during the 17th Super Mileage Challenge April 30 in Indianapolis.
-
Arson suspected in Collett Park restroom fire
Investigation continues into a fire believed to be arson in a restroom building early Sunday at Collett Park on the city’s north side.
-
Garfield Towers fire cause still under study
No new information has surfaced in the investigation of last week’s fire at Garfield Towers that temporarily displaced about 200 residents of the 152-unit building.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 22, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
VIDEO: Suspected TB case at Woodrow Wilson
A suspected case of tuberculosis at Woodrow Wilson Middle School has prompted free testing next week for students and staff at the east side Terre Haute school. Testing is not mandatory and parental permission is required for students.
-
GOP's Pence chooses Sue Ellspermann as running mate
Republican nominee for Governor Mike Pence this morning introduced Sue Ellspermann as his running mate at a rally in her hometown of Ferdinand.
-
With a family history of racing, young Cruz in control
Every mother knows you can’t wash the smell of gasoline out of a kid’s genes.
-
Relay keeps fight vs. cancer on the move
Cancer never sleeps, nor does the fight against its spread.
-
Blessing offers a faith-based form of travelers’ insurance
Members of a local parish hope to have angels driving alongside them this summer.
- RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: May 21, 2012
-
Arson suspected in fire in Collett Park restroom
An early morning fire inCollett Park has been ruled arson and an investigation is under way.
-
Water Works: Walking trails, observation gazebo and more coming to the banks of the Wabash River
Walking trails and an observation gazebo are among projects under way for the Wabashiki Fish & Wildlife Area east of West Terre Haute.
-
300 kids enter the business world
Hundreds of local youth found the sunshine a little sweeter Saturday, selling lemonade from stands throughout town.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Can one single voter make a difference?
In a recent column, I posed a question about why only 19 percent of Indiana’s 4 million voters cast a ballot in the May primary election. I promised not to chastise anyone who would ’fess up to not voting.
-
Terre Haute NAACP to elect delegates for convention
The Greater Terre Haute NAACP will be hosting its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Vigo County public Library, lower level.
-
Lunch with Heroes: Wabash Valley Red Cross honors three people, hears from survivor of ‘Miracle on the Hudson’
When Dave Sanderson found himself falling into the Hudson River along with 154 other people, he joined an elite group of survivors with an amazing story to tell.
-
Mussel Up: Official looks for presence of mussels as indicator of river’s health
The roar of an air boat’s engine is muffled only by ear coverings as Joe Hoopingarner steers his watercraft along at 35 miles per hour on a sunny afternoon.
-
Warriors against Wegener’s: Clay County residents team up to battle rare disease, help one of their own
Lecia Brown thought it was just an ear infection at first.
-
Union backers continue effort to organize Great Dane
Union supporters said they’re undeterred in their effort to organize the Great Dane Trailers plant in Brazil.
-
Sellout crowd packs Terre Haute church to see Sidewalk Prophets
A sellout crowd of more than 1,400 packed Maryland Community Church on Saturday night to hear a trio of nationally seasoned acts, including Terre Haute's Justin Hoeppner and Nashville-based artist Josh Wilson.
-
Mayor learning firsthand about dealing with mortgage foreclosure
Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett is facing a civil lawsuit seeking to foreclose on his eastside home.
-
Recovering from scary fire
A cause for a Thursday evening fire at Garfield Towers that displaced residents and sent several to hospitals may not be determined until late Monday, investigators said. Meanwhile, most residents of the 152-unit building were allowed to return home Friday afternoon.
-
As of now, TH postal center still to close
The Terre Haute mail processing operation on Margaret Avenue would close next January, according to information provided to the American Postal Workers Union in Washington, D.C., on Thursday afternoon.
-
South teen finds success in world of science fairs
Priya Kirtley is just 14 years old, but her science research project — as well as her enthusiasm — has drawn attention at a prestigious international science fair.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Gregg introduces State Sen. Vi Simpson as choice for lieutenant governor
Boy to Rescuers: 'Do You Have a Plan?'
US Airways: Diverted Flight Has 'Landed Safely'
Doctors and Devotees Debate Barefoot Running
Blacks Seek to Find Their Own Missing
Serial Stabbings Suspect Guilty of Murder
Revived Focus on Regulation After JPMorgan Loss
Gerard Butler: the Good, the Bad and the Cannes
Sheriff: DNA Links Suspect to Missing CA Teen
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
Raw Video: Private Rocket Blasts Off
Chicago Police: 90 Arrested in NATO Protests
New Medicine. Can IPads Help Spot Dementia Risk?
A Few Odd Business Sparks but Europe Gloomy
Ex-Rutgers Student Gets 30 Days in Webcam Case
At Least 25 Dead in India Train Collision
Facebook Shares Continue Negative Slide
Fired Lingerie Employee Claims Discrimination
Raw Video: Man Saved After Niagara Falls Plunge
Remains of Veterans Found in Basement Are Buried
White House Cautiously Optimistic on Iran
Daisy Sizzles in Sexy Swimwear
Officers Use Deadly Force on Mountain Lion in Santa Monica
Lea Michele Shows Major Skin
Why Cee Lo Thinks 'The Voice' is So Popular
Burlesque New Orleans
Mike Posner Talks Sneakers: Bamboozle 2012
Howard Stern Makes Kid Cry on AGT
Neighbor Feud Results in Dog Poop in Mailbox
Tiger's Ex-Wife Bares Her Bod
VIDEO | Zoo Chimp Charges Children
Child locked in washing machine after father put him there
Incubus On Working With Odd Future: Bamboozle 2012
'PLL' First Look Clip!
Fired for being 'too hot'
Ashley Olsen is a Bikini Babe
'Part of Me' Details 'Bumpy' Marriage, Says Katy
Music downloader owes nearly $700K in fines
Kardashian Sisters Pose in Lingerie
