by Clyde Whitaker

I have never considered myself a writer. To my way of thinking, a writer is someone who has authored books, writes for a daily publication, or has years and years of experience—much more than I have.

Looking back, my columns have been about things I’ve pulled from my memory, which luckily, I have a lot of, and life stories told to me by our local friends.

I laugh when people come up to me and ask, “Do you make those stories up?” I have written 45 stories in our Stockbridge Community News and I can tell you that they are all true-life experiences, nothing fake.

When I started on this journey with “Clyde’s Corner,” my stories were too long, apparently, for Ed Wetherell. Stopping up at McDonald’s one day a few years ago, Ed came up to me and said, “I love your stories, but they are too damn long.” Well, I was not expecting to hear that, but I appreciated his honesty.

He didn’t like starting to read a story then having to thumb through the paper to find the ending somewhere else. I never looked at it that way, I always thought the longer the better. So, thanks to Ed’s honest assessment, I now try to keep my columns short enough to fit on one page. Thanks, Ed!

It also amazes me when I talk with people like Kim Smith and others, who say the first thing they look for in the paper is “Clyde’s Corner.” This is very humbling and I appreciate it. I’m glad people find my columns interesting. My Uncle Willis Jackson, who is quite a character, joked recently that my column last month had moved up to the third page in the paper.

Seriously though, I appreciate all of you who find my stories interesting. And your feedback is always welcomed.

I plan to continue “Clyde’s Corner” until the paper tells me to stop, lol, so maybe I am a writer after all.

Well, it’s time to sign off. I hear you, Ed: “Your stories are too &%$# long!”

Bye for now!

Clyde Whitaker is a 1973 Stockbridge graduate. He and his wife, Mary, raised four children in Stockbridge, and they still reside in the Stockbridge area.