In May 2000
after twenty-five years in the system, I retired from teaching public high
school English and business/computer classes in Columbus, MS. Once I recovered
from the shock of getting to stay at home and never having to listen for
a bell to tell me what to do next, I began to search for a little something
to do that involved both my English background as well as my computer knowledge.
I had no idea where this search would take me.
Throughout my married life of going on thirty years, my husband, daughter,
and I frequently vacationed at Gulf Shores, AL. Because I always
wanted to live at the beach, I discovered a vicarious way of living at
Gulf Shores by subscribing to the local paper, The Islander. In December
2000 I answered an ad in The Islander, which stated that freelance writers
were needed for a new coastal magazine.
I called the number and talked to J.R. Pate about writing for the magazine.
After telling him my background, he said that the articles had already
been assigned for the first issue, but he asked if I would be interested
in proofreading and editing those articles. As I had been doing this
for the past twenty-five years, my response was, “Of course, but I would
need to do this by e-mail!” I had never minded marking the papers;
I just always hated assigning them a grade. If I had honestly given
their papers the grade they deserved, I probably would have been asked
to leave long before my twenty-five years were up.
I later talked to Julie Pate, J.R.’s wife, about the process we might
use. She was in charge of the magazine layout, while J.R. in was
charge of selling ads. As the other writers completed their assignments
and sent them to her, Julie, in turn, forwarded the articles to me.
Using Microsoft Word Tools to track the changes, I sent her a corrected
copy and a final clean one. She then added pictures and an imaginative
layout.
The first issue of Coastal Gardens and Decks arrived in March 2001.
I was thrilled with the slick look and the colorful pictures, as I had
only seen the articles in text format. I was equally thrilled to
find my name listed in the masthead. Not only was it spelled correctly,
but also I now had a title, Contributing Editor!
The second issue provided me with an opportunity to write my first article.
Julie asked if would like to do an article on shade gardens. My
family laughed, as I had never had anything but a black thumb when it
came to gardening. Julie provided me with a list of nurseries, garden
centers, and landscape architects from the Baldwin County area. I
contacted several of them by phone, asking questions and furiously taking
notes. I e-mailed my finished article to Julie, who added photos taken
by her local photographer, Ashley Birowf. Imagine how surprised I
was to find my article, "Made in the Shade” had become the cover story
for the second issue, which appeared in June 2001.
My second article concerned hummingbirds and plants
that attract them. I interviewed Jim Dickerson at his home in Lillian,
AL, where he has an entire yard devoted to enticing hummingbirds.
This article entitled "Hummingbird Fever" appeared in the third issue of
Coastal Gardens and Decks. My third article was featured in
the December issue. "C in L.A." describes citrus fruits that will thrive
on the Gulf Coast.
By combining my knowledge of the English language with my computer skills,
I have been able to develop a small business, uithoven’s ink, which provides
me with the opportunity to use my talents at home on my own schedule.
In addition, I get to travel to the coast and visit my daughter, who during
the course of this year has moved to Gulf Shores. For the first
time in my life, I am really enjoying my work. I have a real feeling of
accomplishment when I see in print articles that I have both written and
edited.
The last issue of Coastal Gardens and Decks was printed in
December 2001. Due to the economy, the Pates were unable to continue
the magazine. However, this website serves as a tribute to their hard
work.
