Erma Bombeck Writing Competition - Winners
2007
Erma Bombeck Writing Competition
Honorable Mention
Human Interest - Dayton
Celia Elliott
Centerville, Ohio
"I Knew Her When"
| Erma Bombeck and I were street walkers during World War II. Not to worry. We were legitimate saddle shoe pavement pounders when we worked for rival dailies as copy girls in Dayton, Ohio. Erma was a co-op high school student, working two weeks, then attending classes for two weeks. I was a college drop-out, trying to become a reporter via some fancy footwork on city streets. For $20 per week Erma and I crossed paths at police headquarteers, the county courthouse and two bus stations, where we picked up copy from reporters and far-flung correspondents of Miami Valley. In cold weather we warmed ourselves with hot chocolate in Dayton's vintage arcade and traded staff gossip. Even then I thought Erma was witty and entertaining, but she never claimed to be a comedienne. We lost touch for a few years and then Erma turned up in my hometown, Centerville, as the wife of a local school teacher, raising a family. Her life as a columnist began in a local weekly and the rest is history. I replaced her with a column, but who could replace the original Erma? Before she resigned, Erma graciously gave me tips for future stories. When her first book "At Wit's End" came out, I was a library trutee and helped plan a reception for Erma at Centerville library. Erma arrived with husband, Bill, and family, wearing her success well--a new mink stole. Suburbia reveled in our new celebrity, as we sipped tea at the charging desk. Years later after I finally graduated from the Universisty of Dayton, this note came from Erma: "I am delighted that you were in the graduating class of l986...If I had been there in person, I would have given you a big hug. Congratulations!" When I learned of her serious illness and sent a get-well message, another note arrived from Erma saying: "It is the outpouring of conern from letters like yours that keeps me going. I can't die. As George Burns once said, 'I can't die, I'm booked' " Time ran out for this great lady who never forgot where she came from. I regret not giving her a big hug for our friendship of nearly fifty years. |