: About Me

I operate a business through which I provide a broad range of Business Support Services, and many of those services (most notably Business Plans, Resumes and Advertising Copy) involve writing. See my web site at www.jruthassociates.com.

I have been a writer all of my life. Granted, I have never had anything published, but there are snippets of my attempts at creative writing stuck in boxes of junk all over my home and my storage unit. Some date back more than 50 years. All of them reflect my desire to write, and almost all of them show that I've never been focused on learning how to improve my writing style to one that others might enjoy.

For years, my writing has been limited to business topics. I have written mountains of business plans, proposals, drafts of legal documents, advertising copy and general business correspondence. To write in the business world, one must be able to put together a proper sentence. The advantage of this kind of writing is that it generally has to be very clear. Ambiguities don't work at all, and for a business audience correct grammar and spelling are essential. The disadvantage to business writing is that it tends to be not at all entertaining.

I recently realized how very broad my life experiences have been. In my younger days, I had an unusually broad exposure to different occupational areas. By the time I was 18 years old, I'd had a paper route, worked as a ranch hand, made molds, poured metal and finished castings in an aluminum foundry, set type in a printer's shop and washed dishes and filled in as a short order cook at a truck stop. I have lived in 16 communities ranging from very small towns to major cities in 9 states, plus the Panama Canal Zone and VietNam, and I have been more than casually exposed to a broad range of social, economic and ethnic groups. With all of this experience and an unlimited supply of opinions on virtually any topic, how could I not try writing?

My passion is ...

God, my family, my country, my Yorkies

I know too much about ...

TV - cutting waaaaaaaaay back on watching TV

My parents always told me ...

We don't care what you do in this life - just do it the best you can.

My childhood ambition ...

To be a fighter pilot. Or a doctor. Or both.

My favorite memory ...

Too many to even narrow down.

Why I write ...

Because I love to try to express my thoughts and feelings

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

EVERYTHING!

My first job ...

Ranch hand.

My best moment ...

When I saved my ex-wife's life - right after she became my ex.

My inspiration ...

Life

Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Remembering

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I remember the day of the Great Cockroach Hunt. Over 40 years ago, when I was a lot younger and dumber, I was in the army and stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. For any readers who haven't spent time in that part of the country, you need to know that one noteworthy example of the fauna of the area is the cockroach. To the best of my recollection, all of the locals referred to them as "water bugs," but make no mistake about it - they were talking about cockroaches. Big cockroaches. GREAT BIG cockroaches. I mean, these were cockroaches designed by a 1950s sci-fi "B" movie director. We lived ...

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