Profile: Marcy O’Brien
Profile: Marcy O’Brien
Author and columnist to present reading and book signing at Ellicottville Library
Fabled newspaper columnist Erma Bombeck and I were old friends. Well, at least I felt we were after reading her weekly columns related to everyday housewifery in middle-class America as a WWII pre-Baby Boomer. I married in 1965, the year Erma came on the scene. Throughout the burps and bumps of my maternal years, she gave me reason to laugh - or at least to not feel alone - as she assured me with what I was certain was a twinkle in her eye, that we walked the same crazy path. Erma’s 4,000 columns and books taught us, her readers, that if you can’t make it better, you may as well laugh at it. Oh, in case you are wondering who I am referring to, I’m sure you’ve heard the expressions – “the grass is always greener over the septic tank,” or “if life is just a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?” Those musings came from Erma.
I miss Erma. I’ve been missing her for some time. The pandemonium of bringing up my children has passed. Miraculously, we all survived and then I discovered, as did Erma, that the next chapters of life brought more challenges and conundrums - more reasons to laugh, especially when I couldn’t make things better. So, imagine my delight when I was asked to write an article introducing readers to a writer, Marcy O’Brien, who writes in classic Bombeck style. O’Brien will be gracing our community with her presence on Tuesday, the 17th of December, at the Ellicottville Memorial Library at 3:00pm for a book reading and signing of her book, Rounding Third. And yes, there is a genuine Erma Bombeck connection: Marcy O’Brien is the 2023 winner of the prestigious (and coveted) Erma Bombeck Global Writing Competition Award in addition to two previous honorable mentions… even though it took her a while to get there. Let me tell you her story.
Unlike Bombeck, who began writing a humorous column in junior high school, O’Brien came to writing approaching, as she calls it, her dotage, leaping into Career #7. She’s been around a while. Over many exciting decades, O’Brien held the titles of stewardess (and other positions with American Airlines), designer (interior and fashion), teacher, small business owner, and after retirement age, an 11-year stint as Executive Director of an historic theater (Struthers Library Theater) in Warren, Pennsylvania, her adopted hometown. In her words, she shepherded Struthers Library Theatre to the prestigious National Historic Theatre of the Year award. I repeat, she’s been around a long time and has multiple humorous and human-interest stories to tell from her many adventures.
In her bio we find that, “She has written feature articles for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, The Washington Post, Pittsburgh Post, Yankee Magazine, Shipmate Magazine, the Chautauquan, and many others.” After being pestered by her loyal supporters to compile the best of her twenty-some years of columns into a book, she surrendered and began the not-for-the-faint-of-heart process of publishing, at a time in her life when she should have been sitting in a rocking chair on the veranda knitting sweaters for the grandchildren. Although easier said than done, the new venture eventually became mission accomplished. A book was born!
Rounding Third covers episodes from her childhood in Massachusetts (the only girl on an all-boy neighborhood team) to conversations with God. It’s the kind of book that prompts readers to buy more as gifts, and you can get them on the 17th at a reduced price. Since O’Brien will be answering questions after her reading, be sure to ask about the article she wrote for the Boston Globe. It’s a beautiful, touching story with an unexpected bonus proving that writers may starve, according to lore, but not when said writer gets a piece in the Globe. So, budding writers, take heart. And, come meet the writer to pick up writing tips.
O’Brien writes a weekly column appearing in the Warren Times Observer, the Jamestown Post-Journal and the Dunkirk Observer. She lives in Warren, Pennsylvania with her husband, “Dear Richard,” her Maine Coon cat, Finian, and has two children and two perfect grandchildren in faraway places.
Be sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 17th and claim your seat early at the library to hear and visit with this delightful lady. Whether you are young and in the throes of raising a family, or a ‘60s mom like me and have the memories (and faded scars) of raising them years ago, you will find this writer/mom/career woman’s stories both poignant and amusing. Give yourself an early Christmas gift of laughter and fellowship. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did.