Ole Pappy
There are a lot of good writers in this world. Most can make you feel things when you read the stories they’ve written.
One of them is our own staff writer, Scott Thoma. He’s written some amazing articles — many about the amazing people of Minneota. But few writers turn the valve on their own heart the way Scott does. This week, we’re featuring an article Scott wrote about a young man who lost his life at the age of 16.
Scott knew the young man when he was a boy — and for years, he’s pondered a way to write about this remarkable young man. I think his need to write about Paul Mix was enhanced when he met Paul’s sister — who is Barb Hennen of Ghent.
If you don’t feel something when you read this story — check your pulse and see if you’re alive. But the story, behind the story, like so many of Scott’s stories, is that he gets personally involved. This past weekend he visited the gravesite of Paul Mix.
He felt the need to tap into the feelings he’d get by visiting this site. And he took it one step further. He went to a nursing home, where Paul’s mother resides and he made she understood he was writing about Paul and why he was doing it.
All of this is because Scott Thoma is one of those rare writers who doesn’t just write from his head. He doesn’t gather the, “Who, What, Why, Where and How,” and put the facts down in order in his stories. He uses a commodity many writers don’t even begin to explore. Scott Thoma writes from his heart.
The proof is in his book, “Out of the Blue,” about the deadly tornado long ago in Tracy. He didn’t just write about the facts — he dug into the personal lives of some of the victims.
His story was so compelling it helped bring a couple of sisters together again after years of little communication. Who would forget his story about Austin Buysse and how the doctor who helped save his life as a baby appeared at his graduation?
Or how about the story of the eight family members buried in the Hemnes Cemetery after dying in a car crash over 90 years ago? Yes, Scott Thoma has a heart. And he uses it well — and we’re the lucky ones. We get to read what he’s written!
LAUGH A LITTLE: Petty Theft! Football players at a high school were stealing the practice jerseys, so the coach ordered a set with “Property of Central High School” emblazoned on them. When the thefts continued, he ordered a new batch that had the imprint “Stolen from Central High School.” But the jerseys still kept disappearing. The larceny finally stopped after he changed the wording to, “Central High School Fourth String.”
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: As my Ole Pappy used to say, “Life will give you a hundred reasons to cry. The key is to find a thousand reasons to smile.” Ole Pappy love to say, “Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and you frown alone.”