Time to Press "Hold" Button

Sometimes you have to hit the “hold” button. If our lives were run by a business phone from the 1990s, at some point, we would all look down to see too many lights flashing at once. Well, I have come to that moment in time. Have you read the bestselling book about an immigrant lawyer from Burma, living in New York, called “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats”? For me, it’s “The Art of Hearing a Heartbreak” because it is with great regret that I am pushing the “hold” button on writing for this column space.

Three years ago, this month, I read a column by Rusty Turner asking for submissions for the new hometown columnist for The Springdale Morning News. My reaction was immediate and I couldn’t type fast enough. I love this city, imperfections and all, and I had a perspective that I wanted to share. Having moved away in 1993 and returned in 2005, I had lived in a few different cities and I knew why my hometown was amazing but what it was missing as well.

All too often, Springdale has been put on the region’s back burner. However, if you have picked up and read this newspaper within the last year, you know that there is a turn in the road for our city. I am sure you have heard the quote from Ernest Hemingway, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

Yes, our hometown makes our hearts swell, but it is not without fault.

Do you share my love for our city? Do you see the opportunities for our growth and what the future should hold? This space, this writing property, needs your voice, then. And while my opinion hasn’t always been shared, my goal was to be a narrator for our dear city — a voice that wasn’t pessimistic or naive, but realistic and hopeful; a voice of reason, logic and thoughtfulness. You could very well be that voice.

Go ahead and take a chance, email a sample of your work to our publisher, Rusty Turner. Include your name and contact info and please keep it at 750 words or less. Politicians need not apply. The only agenda should be an opinion and not a platform for the next race. Springdale deserves a voice and always has a story to share.

It has been a thrilling opportunity to write for this column and thankfully my editor has always been generous, patient and offered guidance, which I happily accepted. Of course, you, the reader, have been most generous. You have emailed, called and sent lovely notes and feedback. I can’t thank you enough. However, I also appreciated the online critiques. Your participation and passion for Springdale fueled mine.

As you well know, life is always exciting and you never know what the future may hold. I am certain mine will contain pitfalls and accidents, joy and sorrow, mistakes and successes … always a balance. Although, honestly, it may lean towards more pitfalls and accidents. I haven’t even told you about the bee that became lodged in my eardrum … there may not be enough Benadryl in the world for me.

I will miss my constant conversation (as one sided as it may be) with you. I truly believe our residents are the most heartwarming, endearing and down-to-earth people. Every time any of you stopped me to share your story, I was blessed. But for now, I hit “hold,” but not for good. I have no doubt that the journey ahead for Springdale will be exciting and I won’t be able to hold back my pen. In advance, thank you dear reader, for reading my occasional submission. I have one request; perhaps pick up the line I put on hold?

Please email your submissions to [email protected]. Until we visit again …

HEATHER ORRICK NICHOLS IS A SPRINGDALE NATIVE, A WIFE AND THE MOTHER OF THREE CHILDREN.

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