The Pat McManus Influence
By,
Jennifer E. Miller
When writers are asked why they write, many will say it's for themselves. It's a form of therapy for us and relatively cheap. However, when sharing with others, it may leave an impact.
One of my favorite writers, and an
inspiration to my own technique, is local outdoor humorist, Patrick F.
McManus. Sadly, he passed away on Wednesday,
April 11, 2018. I’m not going to sit here and write out a biography, so if you
want more information, here’s a link
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/apr/13/beloved-humor-writer-patrick-mcmanus-dies-age-84/
My first memory of McManus’s books,
were on my dad’s bookshelf. They usually had a bright-colored cover with caricatures
of an outdoorsman and an animal; one or both was getting into some sort of
trouble. There were weird titles, too, like They
Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?
As a kid, sometimes Dad would read stories to me. He’d laugh in various places, but being so young, I
didn’t understand much of them. I was still into Barbies, Pogo Balls, and other
80s toy trends.
Fast forward to high school where I
was helping Mom set up a yard sale. The next-door neighbors, who were leaving
for the weekend, brought over a few things, asking if we wouldn’t mind selling
them during their absence. It wasn’t much; a couple boxes of dated dishware and
dusty old books. As a book lover, I couldn’t help but rummage through what they
had. I found one of the of the familiar bright covers with sketches: Rubber Legs and White Tail Hairs. Hey, a
Pat McManus one! I know his books—sort of. I asked to buy it, but they insisted
I take it as a courtesy for letting them toss some extra stuff in our yard
sale.
I got to reading it as soon as
possible. Being a few years older now, I could follow the stories better and spent my reading time laughing until my stomach hurt. McManus’s sarcastic sense
of humor was right up my alley.
I recall one of McManus’s story
about a high school teacher, Gary Roedl, “rhymes with yodel.” Roedl spoke gun
lingo to Pat a with such lack of enthusiasm that the bugs skidding across the
room in an attempt to escape flipped over dead with boredom (Rubber Legs and White Tail Hairs, “The
Belcher”). The irony is this: Gary Roedl was none other than my high school
driver’s ed instructor who held the same boring demeanor when he lectured us about
four-way stops and head-on collisions. I asked Mr. Roedl about his appearance
in McManus’s book, but he denied it was him. Mr. Roedl must be a professional
liar like all those other hunters and fishermen Pat McManus wrote about,
because how many other school teachers with the name Gary Roedl could
there possibly be? He never fessed up, but I’m certain it was the same guy.
I participated in various creative
writing classes and clubs in high school. The feedback I got on my own work was
never that enthusiastic. “Your story seems forced.” “I don’t like your word
choice for that stanza line.” “You overly used a thesaurus again.” I thought good
writing had to fit a certain niche with big words and ideas in order to produce
anything worthwhile. I’d spend hours stitching words together that sounded romantic
or powerful, but many times, people would say, “I just don’t understand what you
mean.” It was frustrating to feel misunderstood all the time.
One of the last creative writing
assignments of the year, I wrote a story about a fishing experience. I don’t
recall what the theme of the assignment was. What I do recall, was being burned
whenever I turned in a new piece. I was done trying, so I spit out a simple childhood story
about my first rainbow trout catch with lack luster expectations of
receiving high marks from my teacher. My life was boring. I hadn’t traveled to
far-off places, no experiences with thrill-seeking adventures, or living amongst
drama. There was no reason to think my fishing story would be any different. I
scribbled out my words, tossed it on the teacher’s desk, and left for the day.
When the class met next time, Mrs.
C, pulled me aside to discuss my piece. I was ready to take an ax blow, but
instead she said it was the best thing I’d ever written. Also, it was one of
the most entertaining pieces she read from the class assignment. When she asked
why I hadn’t written anything like that before, I was honest and told her it I
didn’t think the subject matter was interesting enough. Mrs. C said nonsense
and explained my piece read exciting because I told the story naturally; I didn’t
try too hard. All year she wanted me to realize that. “Just write as yourself,”
she said. That has been one of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve received
from anyone.
Needless to say, this was a much
different reaction than I was expecting. I think Mrs. C noticed my surprise and
asked what had inspired me to write it. I explained I had read a couple of Pat
McManus’s outdoor humor books which got me reminiscing about that first rainbow
trout catch of mine. Mrs. C was satisfied with that answer, but had more news
for me. She wanted me to submit it for publication in a local anthology
collection, after polishing it up a bit, of course.
My story made it into the local In Roads anthology. The publishing
committee held a public reading for the contributors, and I read an excerpt
from my story. The experience of writing and reading that story made me realize
that there is beauty in ordinary things.
Another bit of irony: one of the
committee members, Tom Gribble, was my creative writing instructor at Spokane
Community College nearly twenty years later. I saw the In Roads anthology on his shelf and pointed out my story.
Let’s return to high school life. I
found an ad for a Patrick F. McManus reading at Auntie’s bookstore. By now,
many of my friends knew about the Gary Roedl story and my trout story, and were
more than willing to join me for this local celebrity appearance. In 1997, I secured a signed copy of Into the
Twilight, Endlessly Grousing.
 |
| McManus in 1997, promoting Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing at Auntie's bookstore. |
In December 2007, at Barnes &
Noble Bookstore in Spokane Valley, he was promoting Kerplunk! And signing books again. This time I requested to be in
the photo with him. He agreed right away and thanked me for coming out.
 |
| 2007 Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Spokane Valley |
McManus also wrote plays. They were
one-man shows, staring Tim Behrens, who acted out many of the McManus’s beloved
characters like Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Rancid Crabtree, and even McManus himself.
They were surprisingly funny considering one actor took on roles of multiple
personalities. After a show, in October 2009, McManus made a guest appearance
afterwards for book signings and to promote his Bo Tully mystery series. I got
another autograph and photo.
 |
| Autographing a book, 2009. |
 |
| 2009 |
Someone once told me if you meet a
celebrity three times you are considered a stalker. Oops.
Later, at another McManus play, I even
got Tim Behren’s autograph, too. However, I lost track of the date on that
one.
 |
| Tim Behrens's autograph, the star of McManus's plays. |
The 2009 encounter was the last
McManus appearance. I’ve keep my eye out for more, but none were advertised. I
assumed he simply retired from the public eye. Since then, I’ve become rather
protective of my signed materials.
Tom* took a business trip to the
east coast which, of course, requires a lengthy airplane ride. He didn’t want
to be bored and asked if he could take one of my McManus books with him.
“But they’re signed,” I protested.
“Yeah so?”
I didn't think there was much need for explanation, but I expressed my utmost concern that
if the plane crashes, my beloved book would be gone forever.
“So would I,” Tom pointed out.
“You aren’t following. These are
signed by Pat McManus himself.”
Tom reasoned with me that I have plenty
of other signed books so pick the one I liked the least. That was impossible, so
I eeny-meeny-miny-moed a sacrificial offering, hoping and praying that nothing happened to the plane to jeopardize the book’s safety. As soon as Tom
returned and walked through the door, the first thing I demanded was, “Give me my
book.” He may have responded with something like “I missed you, too,” but I don’t
recall because I was preoccupied getting my hands back on that thing. After
examining the pages for rips, spills, and possible forgery replacement (you never
know if Tom sold my original to the highest bidder for quick cash), I gave a
sigh of relief as I replaced it on the shelf with the others. I had never been
so pained to be separated from something for so long.
Writers gain inspiration and insight
from many people. With Patrick F. McManus’s style, it kickstarted my gut
reaction response to writing. What I mean is, simply reading his work helped me
realize that I can write about my own ordinary instances and make them
interesting. Because of that, I continue to learn more about myself. That’s the
beauty of writing: discovery.
Now, go get your hands on some of Patrick F. McManus's books and laugh until your stomach hurts.
*name changed
copyright 2018 Jennifer E. Miller
