Jill's Journal: The empty page - revisited

As time was narrowing down to head to the press, I found myself with a blank spot on this very page - namely, the space reserved for my weekly column.

To keep the peace with the printer, I delved into the archives and found this column, which I wrote a few years back on a week when I was at a loss for words. I hope you enjoy it again!

Every once in a while, this ol’ weekly newspaper editor is stumped for a column. I know, hard to believe since it seems I always have something to say.

But this, is one of those occasions where I’m at a loss for words. About 400 of them, to be almost exact.

Thankfully, this what-in-the-heck-am-I-going-to-write-about-this-week snafu only happens once in a blue moon. Did we have a blue moon, by chance?

When it does occur, I sometimes turn to a folder titled, “column fillers.”

I looked this morning, but the folder was empty, out of stock, barren and depleted. Obviously, I’ve used the good ideas up, so it’s time to restock the folder. If you have some random thoughts or ideas, send them my way. As I said, the folder is clean as a whistle.

Oftentimes, a trip to mom’s house for the weekend will provide me with some food for thought – or in this case – a topic for a column. Mom’s always a bit fearful that her name and some sort of predicament that she and I faced will be recorded in the next Jill’s Journal column space.

And she’s right, because she often does. 

Sometimes, a trip I’ve taken fills this space. Unfortunately, I haven’t ventured too far from home yet and no plans with no immediate plans for a destination vacation until the snow flies, well I guess there’s no stories to be told about the big fish that got away or the scenery that whipped by while traveling to Somewhere U.S.A.

I could write about back-to-school shopping trips I made growing up. Seems my list of needs was always a lot longer than mom and dad’s pocketbook allowed for. I could write about how I’m looking forward to a football season of fans back in the stands and cheering on two of my favorite teams – the Brandon Valley Lynx and the Minnesota Vikings. But those stories haven’t ripened – just yet. 

How about those Twins? The Minnesota Twins, that is. They’re having an up and down season – and occasionally, I’m tuning in to see how Cruz and Kepler and the boys are producing. So, circle me, Bert!

When I sat down to write this week’s installment of Jill’s Journal, I faced an empty page and had no inkling of what I would even write about. As I wrap up this week’s installment, I guess a column about nothing is still a column about something.

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With the Fourth of July on tap, please be safe everyone and enjoy the freedoms that we celebrate on this special day in America!