"Fit To Be Tied" by S.G. Benson
– “You’re not gonna like this,” he said.
Hearing only the wind and my own heartbeat punctuated my isolation. Where did they all go?
S. G. (Sandy) Benson lives in Warne, North Carolina, where she is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network-West. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers and received awards from the Nebraska Press Women. She published her first book in 2021, My Mother’s Keeper: One Family’s Journey Through Dementia. Her next book, Dear Folks: Letters Home from World War II, 1943-1946 is scheduled for release in April 2024. Details at https://www.sandygbenson.com/
Author’s Talk
It isn’t often that newspaper reporters get to write about the joys and disasters that befall them as they are out chasing stories. Early on, I realized I was having a lot of incredible adventures that my editors did not want to hear about. I began saving the articles in a scrapbook with backstory notes. Decades later, as I look back on those notes, I realize that they are a storytelling goldmine.
Over the years, while in hot pursuit of a story, I’ve had opportunities to fly in a World War II plane (making 3G turns), canoe a National Scenic River, dance at a tribal pow-wow, soar above the desert in a hot-air balloon, fight wildfires, dig fossils, help with bison roundups and cattle drives, shoot a black powder rifle, skulk around a Cattlemen’s Ball, climb to the top of a wind turbine, wander out on thin ice, use a fly rod, chase ghosts at a historic hotel, and much more. I even lurked on a bank’s balcony and photographed a mock robbery in the lobby below. The tellers hadn’t been warned of the training exercise.
So, when I learned about the Personal Story Publishing Project, I was jazzed. Here’s the opportunity I’ve been waiting for to tell these wild tales. I leafed through my scrapbook and had a tough time figuring out where to start. They’re all such fun adventures, just begging me to talk about them.
I chose Fit To Be Tied as a starting point, partly because it coincides with late winter, the time the call for stories came out. But mostly I picked it because it so well illustrates the nature of my adventures. In most cases, the backstory is quite a bit more interesting than the article itself. I’m looking forward to telling more of these stories and perhaps even collecting them into a book.—S.G. Benson