Outside the Comfort Zone

Growing up in the 70s, men dominated popular culture, but there were a few women whose names figured prominently. Gloria Steinem. Barbara Walters. Sally Hansen. Jean Nate. Ok, maybe I was a little unclear on exactly who these women were and what contributions they made to society, but at least I recognized the names. And one of the biggest names in suburbia was surely Erma Bombeck. Her book “The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank” was a coffee table anchor at our house. I remember sitting on the “good” couch in our living room reading snippets of the book. Although I didn’t always understand the humor, I knew that her writing rang true. The grass actually was greener over the septic tank. Like the comic strip Family Circus, Erma took things from my mundane life and made them funny – or at least funny to the grown ups. But Erma existed far beyond our coffee table. Her column was in the newspaper ALL THE TIME and she was even on TV. Real TV! Granted, Jean Nate was on TV too, but those were commercials, not actual programs, so they didn’t count (and who was Jean, anyway?). Of course, I had no idea that Erma was pioneering new humor ground for women. I just knew that she wrote about things I could understand. Kids, dogs, and grocery stores. Church services, family dinners, and long car rides. It was like she was our neighbor, our funny neighbor whose picture was in the newspaper every week. She wasn’t as fashionable or exciting as Charlie’s Angels, but she was cool in her own way.

Which is a long way of saying that I was thrilled when the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop decided to publish a holiday piece of mine: Christmas Eve in Boca Palms. And I’d like to think that if Erma were alive today, she’d shop online, too. So surf on over and have a read.

Merry Christmas to all, wherever you happen to be this year.