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Words Add Up To
Tin Anniversary
Tin Man is on my mind as I write today’s 600 words.
Not Dorothy’s newfound companion in “The Wizard of Oz”, but rather a homeless man I encountered many years past outside the Rose Bowl Stadium two hours before kickoff. He introduced himself as “Tin Man” even though his shopping cart was overflowing with empty aluminum cans.
I was there to cover the Super Bowl and cannot even remember who played. However, I have never forgotten Tin Man. The record earnings he anticipated from gathering recyclables at tailgate parties would not have bought the cheapest ticket to the big game. Amid princely opulence, he was a pauper.
Why am I thinking of a stranger I shared hot dogs and sodas with nearly three decades ago? Because tin/aluminum is the traditional gift for a 10th anniversary – and today marks that occasion for my column in this Saturday space.
In truth, the official debut date was July 31, 2010. Alas, as with my wedding anniversary a number of years ago, last week I dropped the ball – much like the Buffalo Bills did many times in losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 52-17, in the 1993 Super Bowl. I had to look all of that up.
Despite one fumbled anniversary, my marriage is streaking happily towards 38 years next month. Loyal readers here know I have a thing for streaks, having run at least three miles every day for the past 17 years – 6,243 consecutive days to be precise.
Similarly, my column “streak” stretches back all ten years and now numbers 524 consecutive Saturdays without a miss. Doing the math at 700 words weekly for the first eight years and 600 ever since, this adds up to more than 350,000 words. The tally seems impressive until you realize “War and Peace” comes in at 587,287 words.
Sometimes I feel like I inherited this sacred forum from Tolstoy himself. Chuck Thomas, my predecessor and mentor, was a Star – and star – columnist for half a century. The final time I saw him, Chuck was in the hospital and he joked I should pinch hit for him. He died a couple days later and his words proved prophetic.
How greatly did I look up to Chuck? Perhaps the best answer I can offer is this: his notes and letters are inside the same box that holds penned heirlooms from my idols Jim Murray and John Wooden.
Re-reading those missives from Chuck, who uniquely and affectionately called me “Wooder”, I came across this gem: “If there’s someone whose friendship you treasure, be sure to tell them now – without waiting for a memorial service to say it.”
I remain grateful I followed this wisdom and told Chuck while he was alive.
Another of his letters, written on a manual typewriter as always, is dated July 12, 1995, and was eerily prescient. Chuck, who started his career in sports, began: “Wooder, What happens to sports columnists? Some of them become old news-page columnists. …”
China is the recognized gift for a 20th anniversary, by which time I would indeed be an old news-page columnist. But even steel to celebrate 11 years seems as distant as the moon. As Jim Murray sagely shared early in my career, “I never look past today’s column.”
Or as Tin Man told me: “We’re all day-to-day and today is a good one.”
Yes, it is. And so, with a full aluminum can in hand, I raise a toast to my tin anniversary; and to Chuck Thomas; and to the two of his “three loyal readers” I have managed to keep.
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
- Personalized signed copies are at WoodyWoodburn.com