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Bryceʼs
ink bator
Notes from the Publisher ... Fostering ideas , conversations and arguments .
If I were the protagonist in one of those action-adventure novel series where I go into danger to solve mysteries , save people , and defeat bad guys , I ’ d have to have those obligatory support people who make me who I am . First , there is the quirky but reliable sidekick who likes to kick ass and show up at just the right time to save your bacon while making a bad one-liner joke . And then there ’ s the techno whiz back at HQ who just happens to know how to hack into anything to get the secret files , or unlock doors , or see all the camera feeds to get you to your target … and saves you bacon . This time of year , my real-life cast of crime-fighting sidekicks includes two such people . Paul Gilligan is my plucky sidekick who is up for any adventure , anytime . When it comes down to brass tacks , the daily physical work and progress of Toys for Tots achieving its goals is about 90 % Paul and me . And while I ’ m also trying to publish a magazine and manage all of the clerical duties of Toys for Tots , Paul will go off on his own and grind through many of those critical things that need to get done but are never really that much fun . This would include delivering more than 100 toy donation boxes across the Tri-States , organizing a warehouse that fills and clutters faster than we can manage at times , and even inflating hundreds of sports balls , one at a time . He ’ ll say it ’ s not a big deal , but it saves me hours of my time and stress off my mind . His jokes are generally terrible , and his listening and memory skills are as well-honed as his jokes . But it all works out in the end . And he ’ s always up for lunch !
Back at HQ , Kristina Nesteby is waiting by the keyboard ( probably napping ) for me to ask her to update complex sign-up forms , edit online information about 20 times on the same site , and spot all the mistakes I made along the way . On top of that , when I do see issues I need to address and reach out , half of the time she already fixed it before I even noticed it was going to be a problem . And , you know , while I sort of disappear from 365ink for a month leading up to Christmas , she just kicks her feet a little harder under the water and keeps the whole company above water until I finally sit still for a while . She , too , is always up for lunch on the rare occasion that she ’ s doing her hacking from the same ZIP code as me .
And then there is the unsung rest of the team . My wife , Christy , who , with her mom this week , sorted and prepared all of my recently completed Toys for Tots auction items for delivery to their winners , as well as making sure I actually had everything I thought I had to auction off . More hours saved . And Paul and Sandy Meyer not only are my volunteer rocks at the Multicultural Family Center distribution site , they also make Darth Vader come to like at our Kids ’ Christmas Party , take pix with Santa and kids at Theisen ’ s , and literally build some of the wonderful toys we use to make the season bright , like our kick-ass new Santa throne where kids meet the man himself . They are the definition of handy !
And they are the core of a bigger team that comes and goes . I ’ m sure some of you are part of it , from distribution volunteers to toy sorters and auction bidders . Thanks everyone for pitching in to make this at all possible to pull off . It ’ s not just one guy , but I get a lot of credit . Just know that I know where the credit lies .
And like every successful action-adventure novel series out there , we ’ re now on the 17 th book in the series , and it ’ s still interesting , and crazy things keep happening to our intrepid cast of characters . COVID , cancer , loss of warehouse space , random injuries , semis filled with thousands of the same toy , dead birds in the box truck , live animals in the warehouse , condoms in the stocking stuffers , and few dents in the sleigh . Yet , on we trudge toward Dec . 25 , before we start all over a week later .
I imagine a lot of readers are wondering what I have to say about what happened with the election , but I really don ’ t have the words . I guess we ’ re just not who I hoped we were as a country , and I hope I am wrong about what I fear for the future . I really do want us to succeed . Who would pray for us to fail ? I ’ ve seen the cabinet picks and , well … it ’ s not looking good so far . I will just hope with all my might that what some will see as success does not come at a cost to the Americans around them who are different from them . Please let this next “ Golden Age of America ” be golden for all of us , not just those who look like me . •
4 365INK MAGAZINE November 21 – December 4 , 2024 Issue # 474 DUBUQUE365 . COM