Hey-Who or what is a Macjest anyway?
Okay, you asked.
The name Macjest came about years ago when I first started working as a Computer Technician at a high school. We use Macintoshes in the lab. One of our English teachers was such a huge fan of all things Macintosh, that he decided we should all have Mac related user names. (His was Macphreak.) I was a storyteller at the elementary school I worked at previously. My friend and I had worked up a logo for us involving a jester. (Also, I love practical jokes.) Hence the name Macjest.
A little more background:
I was born and raised in southern Wisconsin. Portland, to be precise. Since it's kind of hard to locate on a map, just think of it as being about 20 minutes east of Madison. Population when I left was about 2800. {The high school I work at had at one point 3500 kids. I always loved to tell them that there are more kids on our campus then in my entire home town. They look at me like I came from outer Mongolia.} Anyway, at the age of 20, frustrated in college, I moved to California. I putzed around for a while, did some local theater and got a job working 3 hours at the elementary school. I kind of, sort of, found my niche. At one time I was going for my teaching credential. But - with accountability and No Child Left Behind, let's just say I like my job a whole lot better than most of the teachers do.
The all important question, when did I find Trixie?
Well, this is embarrassing! I can't recall exactly how old I was when I started reading Trixie. I clearly remember doing so. My best friend and I traded books all the time. She had Nancy Drew and I had Trixie. I think I had the better set of books, don't you? I also remember reading the books while in high school, but then when I moved out to CA in 1984, I forgot all about her. (Besides, the books were in WI.) In 2001, I had a dream one night that involved Trixie. The next morning I tried to recall all of characters names. It took a little bid of dredging, but I finally remembered everybody-even Dan. *grin* I got on the internet and typed in Trixie Belden. Darn near fell off my chair in shock. I couldn't believe how much was out there! I started at Zap and eventually discovered Jix. What began as a hobby, soon developed into full blown addiction. As SusanSuth can tell you, I would become so upset at people disturbing my reading, that I would unplug the phone! And now ... now I'm at the point where I read something in the newspaper and try to relate it to the BWGs in some fashion. Yup! I'm obsessed. And proud of it!
What kind of Trixie stories will I write?
I'm a traditional Jim and Trixie kind of person. I haven't quite worked up to doing angst yet, but I'd like to eventually. Right now, my writing is issue driven. I read or see something that I think is important, and just like the Bob-Whites I want to do something about it. So I'm letting them do the talking for me. But as my user name suggests--it's no fun taking life seriously all the time. Trust me, I can always be counted on to lighten things up a bit.
So - why don't you pull up a chair and set a spell. I've got a few stories. Enjoy!!