Pic: "Jacko - Trick or Treat" Human Condition from the Baton Rouge Advocate, 2004
I am writing this Baton Rouge "Human Condition" Column submission in thanksgiving for Mr. Greg Langley, former Advocate News Features Editor, who helped encourage this neophyte of an author in a neat and indirect way.
Back in 2004, when I was working as a Medical Social Worker for the BRG – BB, I felt inspired to try and pen a little story that I then could only have dreamed could possibly get published in the “Human Condition” column of the Magazine section of The Advocate.
While I may have previously had a few Letters to the Editor published thanks to Bill Bankston and contributions noted by Smiley Anders, I never really thought I could write decently.
In college at Loyola of New Orleans, I actually had to take a remedial Writing Course as a Freshman, since I hadn't taken an interest in or put in much effort at prose in the past.
While I'm thinking about it, I should give thanks also to John Biguenet, an accomplished New Orleans Writer who was my Remedial English Professor at Loyola, as he gave me great lessons and inspiration to improve my writing skills.
Since I was in the Social Work Curriculum at Loyola, it was critical that I had developed a better sense of the written word, as that was part and parcel with term papers, a thesis and narrative-like documentation abilities that helped me to complete both undergraduate and graduated degrees. These learned abilities have also greatly facilitated me in my professional social work career.
So what would I choose for a topic to use in my first stab at writing for Human Condition? Kim, an ICU Nurse at the BRG BB, did a great prank on Halloween Day in 2004 to many of her fellow staff.
My first column, thus, recounted the fun way that Kim had convinced me and other staff members to attend to “Jacko,” reportedly a critical care patient in the hospital that day.
Most of us attempted to interact and talk with the fake patient made up of sheets and pillows stuffed carefully in a hospital bed with all kinds of monitors seemingly connected to it to make it life-like. We all eventually discovered, upon closer examination, that it had a pumpkin head. Fellow pranksters got to laugh at us as we took our turns making fools of ourselves, as they were in a separate nursing area that connected to the camera monitoring which was used for patients.
While we, as staff, always strove to provide dignity and care to all patients in need without any disrespect, in our own “MASH-like way,” we knew how to laugh at ourselves, at times, to de-stress from the sometimes emotionally draining work.
So the Human Condition column was neat when it appeared the Sunday after Halloween – nothing had been edited as I perused the published gem! But what perplexed me was how DIN (David Norwood), former Advocate Graphic Artist, could have depicted my cartoon face so accurately in the created image used with the column, since it looked so much really like me – I had never met Greg or David.
I found out later that, unbeknownst to me, Greg's wife worked in the BRG BB Admissions Department right next to my office; I had always used her first name in passing and had never made the connection at the time with Greg.
Apparently, Greg had checked to see if his wife knew me and after confirmation, she must have shared with him a copy of my family picture found on my desk!
So thanks, Greg, for that 1st column that you used from me in Human Condition, as well as many more since then. Writing is really a fun outlet that I thoroughly enjoy!
And thanks to some other Advocate writers, Leila Pitchford English and William Taylor; I've had my fair share of contributions through them used in the Religion/People & Faith Section. Per another contributor to the latter column, I eventually found out about and enrolled most of my own writings on the www.authorsden.com website.
How can I forget the neat story that the late Laurie Smith Anderson wrote about our inter-generational family when we had first moved to Baton Rouge in the early 1990s? Before she died, she shared so many inspiring and poignant stories about her dealing with death and dying in her “The Patient Person” columns.
And how can I overlook some of my wife's wonderful recipes, like pralines, that we have sent in for the Food Section that got published. Also, it has been fun to send in requested info for Advocate theme stories like Valentine's Day for the FUN Section or, most recently, to Carol Ann Blitzer for Mother's Day!
Well, I'm old fashioned, as this current Human Condition submission is being hand written with a pen – even though I do so much typing on laptops these days!
I guess it will always be like Ben Franklin once noted: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Right/Write On!
So thanks again to Greg and all Advocate writers who have given impetus to my writing. Now, as my friends tell me, if I can just get the Advocate to include stipends for these submissions; who knows – I may have the chance to begin a second career?
Keith John Paul Horcasitas, LCSW, MHA, 1133 Knollhaven Drive, BRLA 70810, khorcasitas.yahoo.com, June 30, 2013
(Richard M. Feldman) Ever since I was a young boy, the only thing I wanted to be was a cowboy. I wanted to own and work on a real ranch, with cattle and horses. Especially horses.
While I never became a cowboy, considering everything I have done
Rosetta was born in 1909 as the youngest of ten children. The family had more laughter than money and neighbors would knock on their door to ask, "Can we come in and laugh, too?"
I am writing this Baton Rouge "Human Condition" Column submission in thanksgiving for Mr. Greg Langley, former Advocate News Features Editor, who helped encourage this neophyte of an author in a neat and indirect way.
