When I began this blog I wrote about my reluctant reasons for starting down this path. I gave credit to the Sunday Bakers, as well as to a growing desire to create a place for my travel notes. What I failed to mention is this man: Jack Smith. Jack Smith was a columnist for over 40 years for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote daily for most of that time, and as a child coming of age in the 60's and 70's, he was the person who shaped a lot of my thinking and gave me memories of growing up in the City of the Angels. He may have also been the only person my mother-in-law and I equally enjoyed outside our family; his columns gave us a common interest, she bought me his books. Eventually his column became less frequent, then he retired, tho still active in the writing and book world for many years; he passed on several years ago.He and his wife raised a family on Mt. Washington, an LA neighborhood just east of Los Angeles, and not far from South Pasadena. David and I used to see him at our gym in Pasadena. The library at the elementary school his sons attended in Mt. Washington 50 years ago is now named for Jack & Denny Smith.
Currently his life and times are the focus of an exhibit at the Huntington Library. His papers are part of their archives. I had the poignant pleasure of reliving his times, my times, on a recent visit to the library and also at a lecture given in March by the curator of the exhibit, Sue Hodson. It was in her opening remarks at the lecture that I had that "lightbulb" moment, a small epiphany of sorts. Ms. Hodson referred to Jack Smith, the quintessential columnist, as a man ahead of his time, who today would have most likely been an original blogger. So that was it for me, the quantum leap from journalism into cyberspace, from a column to a blog. I could have been a columnist, thus I guess I could be a blogger. Back in high school, I remembered, I thought I wanted to be a foreign correspondent for a newspaper, so writing and traveling. Maybe I am coming full circle in some ways. Thank you, Mr. Smith.
If anyone is interested in learning more about Jack Smith, here's the link to the exhibit:
Jack Smith http://www.huntington.org/Information/jacksmith.htm
Comments (2)
Marcia, my first job out of college was teaching in LA, roughly from 62-68. I fondly remember the Jack Smith columns, although I wasn't too much of a newspaper reader then--too much spaghetti and red wine at all those Manhattan Beach parties.
When I would visit later on I always hunted first for his column. Thanks for reminding me!
Joan
Posted by cubbies | May 7, 2008 6:13 PM
Posted on May 7, 2008 18:13
Foreign correspondence may not be your thing, but who is to say that you have to cross columnist off your list of aspirations?
Travel writing is something that becomes all the more tangible when you travel more and more into those budding years of retirement!
Posted by Rachel | May 8, 2008 12:33 PM
Posted on May 8, 2008 12:33