text: Erma Bombeck … really? | Happy Holly Project
  Erma Bombeck … really?
  blog, Erma Bombeck, humor, stephan pastis, Writing
  You know, I WAS going to call this "Emails and Facebook Posts" … not too catchy, granted … but one of my favorite women writers of years gone by kept coming up … and I have basically been writing about whatever was on my mind. What might that be, you ask?
  Erma Bombeck is on my mind, that's what … so Erma Bombeck it is.
  Someone just read my blog entry for today and said I sounded like Erma Bombeck. Okay, so she is the Aunt who looks a lot like me but still … I am sure she meant every word of it …
  IF YOU GET A CHANCE AND WANT TO—CHECK HOLLY'S BLOG OUT—SHE IS A STITCH FOR SURE—–AHHH –I GOOGLE IT—ADDRESS IS —- HAPPYHOLLYPROJECT.COM—SHE IS ANOTHER ERMA BOMBECK FOR SURE—
  A dear friend a week ago said I sounded like a latter-day Erma Bombeck. She is not the first friend to say this. And her friend disagreed and said "No, I used to read Erma Bombeck and I think you are better than Erma Bombeck."
  On cleaning her library out, yet another friend gave me a paperback that she said reminded her of my writing style and on the front it said … "Just like
  Erma Bombeck."
  Add to that the kind remarks of my brother the other day, and a quote from my Dad and Mom last night upon reading the blog for the first time …
  We have been reading some of your recent writings and it is obvious you have hidden writing skills. … Keep up the good work, you are doing great.
  Obviously delusional … the whole bunch of them. (Just kidding, Dad)
  For those of you unfamiliar with the lady in question, Erma Louise Bombeck, née Fiste (February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s.
  Well, let me put it this way … there are several differences. Allow me to explain.
  First the way we look … Erma Bombeck on left looking all professional. Me on right pretending to look professional.
  Not enough? Okay, how about these ….
  Erma: Humorist.
  Holly: People laugh when they see me.
  Erma: 30 million viewers daily.
  Holly: I broke 100 yesterday for the first time.
  Erma: Mothers name also Erma.
  Holly: Mothers nickname Dolly, her Mothers name Molly. No, none of my three daughters were named Polly … but all three do start with the same letter … story for another day, perhaps.
  Erma: Family lived in Grandmothers home for a while.
  Holly: Family lived in Grandfathers home for a while.
  Erma: Born in Bellbrook.
  Holly: Born in 'Burgh (Pittsburgh for those of you uninitiated.)
  Erma: Writes comic things.
  Holly: Reads comic things. (Oh, and I did have my picture taken with Stephan Pastis … does that count?)
  Erma: Excellent student and avid reader.
  Holly: Solid C student and would take an F on a book report rather than stand up in front of the class and speak.
  Oh, and I only read the covers to do the report in the first place. Like "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" whose report went something like this:
  "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was a very good book. It was written by Alan Sillitoe, who is a very good writer. It is about a runner. The runner really enjoyed running and ran long distances…" Add a few more sentences about "running" and "long distances" and you pretty much get the gist of what I wrote.
  No bleak country road. No reform school. No barbed wire fences.
  The teacher wrote "Pretty far afield, no?" in the margins of my report. I did not get an "A" for creativity.
  But I digress … back to Erma and Me.
  Erma: Began writing in Junior High.
  Holly: Never tried to write until last November (2011) when, heartbroken, four people in five days said "You should write a book" and I found nanowrimo.org. See whole story in my About Holly page or the first post here.
  Erma: Wrote 15 Books
  Holly: Reads Lots of Books … writing a book, huh? Hmmm.
  Erma: Intense Homemaker for 10 years.
  Holly: Intensely Avoided Homemaking for entire life.
  Have I made my point sufficiently?
  So to say that I am even remotely similar to her? … Now that was a complement beyond complements … not sure I deserved that one … but I further went out to see some of her quotes … and laughed out loud.
  Pulling myself together, I wiped my eyes and looked further … and saw this one …
  Funny about that … I had heard that first in college years ago … and it made a lot of sense then … as it does now.
  And then two of them hit me between the eyes ….
  Well, now that was interesting. And I thought back to why I started writing in the first place … a feeble attempt at writing for nanowrimo.org … followed by a private blog read only by a select few … and ending with this Happy Holly Project to help heal my heartbreak and grief.
  (… which reminds me, I have been meaning to rent "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest")
  The other quote that spoke to me hit me even more so and was this …
  And I realized, maybe Erma and I are more alike than I thought.
  7 thoughts on "Erma Bombeck … really?"
  HOLLY I REMEMBER YEARS AGO READING ABOUT A GAL THAT WAS IN PRISON ( A NON READER) BUT DECIDED ONE DAY TO TAKE A BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY CART THAT CAME AROUND—IT WAS AN ERMA BOOK—-THIS GAL WAS IN PRISON FOR KILLING HER CHILDREN—-SHE READ THE BOOK AND THEN SENT ERMA A LETTER SAYING HOW MUCH IT MEANT TO HER TO READ ERMA'S HUMOR—–SHE ALSO SAID THAT IF SHE WOULD OF READ SOMETHING LIKE THAT YEARS BEFORE AND WOULD OF HAD A DIFFERENT MIND SET—IE–ERMA'S HUMOR MIND SET —–SHE MAY NOT HAVE HAD TO GO TO
  PRISON——WAS A SAD STORY TO READ BUT——A GOOD LESSON TO HEAR—–SO KEEP THE HUMOR IN YOUR POSTINGS—IT WILL BE HEALING FOR MORE PEOPLE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE——AND SO FUN TO READ—–SOME DAY THE NAME HOLLY WILL BE RIGHT UP THERE WITH ERMA—–NOT TO MEANTION WHAT A CUTE NAME HOLLY REALLY IS——-LVALO
  So glad you enjoy it, oh anonymous look-alike Aunt who wrote the comment I mentioned today … lol … Not sure if it is healing for others, but it is doing wonders for me. On reading this earlier, a friend reminded me how, in difficult years gone by, I always told of my situations … and had people laughing by the end of the telling. Long before the days of the internet …
  Love Erma Bombeck and digging your style. And hey, you've got to read lots of books to write a good book. Your bestseller is around the corner.
  Hmmm … I like the way you think! And I just got started on the blogging and whatnot, as I mentioned. Not even sure how I would go about publishing a bestseller … oh yeah … I guess I would have to write it first, huh?