When speaking about finding a career or life’s path, myfather, Tom Favorite, always said, “If it’s not fun, it’s work.”  He heard these words from his ownfather, Clyde Winston Favorite. 

 As a writer, I’ve always found writing to be fun. Even whenI’ve been blocked, blank, or stuck, the creative and intellectual conundrums ofwriting provide a special pleasure. Translating what’s in my mind to the pageis a constant struggle, and yet the moments when a character shouts out a funnyline I didn’t expect are the best in life.  Carol Anshaw, my teacher, once had a short storyanthologized and did a tour with Garrison Keillor. Afterward, she said,“Publishing, reading—that’s all great, but nothing compares to the fun I hadwriting that story.”  

My father would have loved what Carol said.  He was a CPA with a private practice,and he was the only guy I know who had a great time doing people’s taxes.  Every client was a character. Hisfavorite was an elderly woman who lived in a spacious Hyde Park apartment withPersian rugs and antiques. But the coup de grace was a poster of Farrah Fawcettin her orange one-piece bathing suit that hung in the dining room.  Once my dad asked the octogenarian,“Mabel, what’s with the Farrah poster?” “Isn’t she beautiful?” My dad always smacked the table when he told thatstory. 



And every time I heard that story (which was often), I laughed too.

 


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