231 Faculty If you told the high school version of me that I would someday write 300 essays for a college newspaper, I would have fainted on the spot. First, because that sounds like way more work than I would have wanted to take on at eighteen. But also, because it would mean that one of my two career dreams had come true. First, I wanted to be an English teacher. The wonderful teachers in my life stoked my love of writing and reading literature and helped me get better at both. As I watched them in front of the classroom day after day, I thought to myself, “I want to do what they do.” Granted, they made it all look much easier than I have since discovered teaching to be, but they set me on a path that has blessed my life for nearly thirty years. My second dream was to be a humor columnist. I grew up in Georgia and often read a writer named Lewis Grizzard, who had a weekly column in the Atlanta Journal. As I devoured his witty musings on life, love, sports and the Waffle House, I thought to myself, “I want to do what he does.” I shared that dream with a friend who told me jobs like that were hard to get and that I had best stick to teaching. So, I put the idea on the back burner. It stayed there for over a decade. Two years into my career at Harding, I had Heather Browning in my class. She was the editor for the campus newspaper and liked my sense of humor (There’s no accounting for taste). Heather invited me to write an article for The Bison, and I sent in a piece about a recent trip overseas. That turned into an invitation to submit more, and by the next semester, I was writing for nearly every issue of the paper. I have now been doing that for eighteen years. I’m so grateful to Student Publications for putting up with my nonsense and giving me space to write about whatever I want. From stories of my childhood to tales of funny things that happen to me in restaurants, from thoughts about pop culture to tributes for friends who have passed on, I’ve had the freedom to write 800 words a week on things that mattered to me. I’ve even taken on challenges sent in by loyal readers, such as the time I wrote a whole column without the letter “E,” or the week I submitted one entirely in limericks. I’ve just done the math, and it seems I have inflicted over 240,000 words on the Harding nation since 2005. I feel the need to apologize. But not necessarily to stop. As long as readers tell me they enjoy what I write, I plan to keep going. I am seldom happier than when composing a new “Just the Clax,” and I’m thankful to Harding for this wonderful ride. Reflecting on 300 Columns in The Bison Newspaper Narrative Columnist Michael Claxton 300! | Professor Michael Claxton examines his articles for the Bison. Claxton has filed and retained hard copies of all of his articles over the years. Photo by Lauren Simmons A Happy Reunion | Dr. Claxton poses with Heather Browning, the Bison editor who asked him to contribute his first column to the publication. The two reunited at the Student Publications alumni brunch on Nov. 4. Photo courtesy of Michael Claxton
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