This column is about to come of age. It is 171Ú2 years old as of Canada Day 1996. I don’t know the exact volume of mail I’ve received since 1979. It’s likely about 5,000 letters.
In the early years people wrote to me for handout materials on various topics. That is now handled by Sunrise Specialty Books, 2727 – 2nd Ave. West, Prince Albert, Sask. S6V 5E5, 306-764-2242. It will provide you with a list of topics and prices on request.
But since 1979 close to 1,000 people have written personal letters to me about their problems. Most letters were edited and printed. Some were not suitable for publishing.
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Ask tough questions to determine if business still works
Across the country, a hard conversation is unfolding. Many producers are starting to ask a tougher question: can we keep doing this the way we always have?
Some people wrote to me who had never read The Western Producer. My name was passed on to them by friends who felt it would be helpful for them to write to me. Publishing one reader’s letter has at times encouraged other readers to write. Often people shared that they had started to write a letter many times, but got stuck or afraid to do so.
For some reason, which I’m not sure of, the number of letters has dropped greatly this year. As a result, I have written more informational columns than question and answer columns this year. I could make up fictitious letters, but I won’t.
Reaching out and admitting you can’t handle life is difficult. We live in a culture which falsely believes we are supposed to solve everything on our own. I suspect many people think of writing to me and stop at that. Others want to write to me but never do because of feelings of embarrassment, shame, anxiety or fear. And others actually write because they feel they have to. That’s not unusual. Most of life’s decisions are only made when we reach a point where we can’t put off a decision any longer.
Want easy access
I’ve been thinking about ways to make it easier for people to reach out to me. I don’t have e-mail, either at work or at home. And besides, only a few Western Producer readers likely have access to it.
It’s often easier to talk things out than write them out. Some readers have tracked down my phone number at work or at home, and I’ve had many talks with them. But I have a busy full-time job, and I also need some time to myself, so I can’t be on call at my phone.
But if it will help readers to share their concerns and their questions for use as a possible column, they can call a special phone number, 306-764-1214. This is not my listed number. This is a home number which has a special ring that other family members do not answer. If I am unavailable the call goes to my answering system where a person can leave a message of three minutes. I will then use the information on the answering system to prepare a column for a future issue of The Western Producer.
If I answer the phone myself, I may ask the caller to phone back and use the message system since it is hard to take down notes from a live caller. With the message system I can repeat the message until I’m sure I have it right and I can also type it up as I listen to it.
