A Great Way to Get Some Free Publicity That Works!

I just have to blog this. It's a funny story, so bear with me....

Last September, as you know, the kids and I went to the Smoky Mountains for a few glorious days of rest, relaxation, and fun.

Well, I wrote an article, a really great travel piece, and submitted it to my local paper, The Eastern Shore News.

I had been watching every Wednesday when the paper comes out for my article, but I had yet to see it, and I really kind of forgot about it, figuring they weren't ready to print it.

Last Friday, I was sitting down at work, chomping down on my wings and salad, and decided to read the newspaper. It was a free paper called The Eastern Shore Neighbor and is distributed by the same paper I sent my article to. Well, it was in there.

I thought it was really neat, and told the people at work who were there, grabbed a few dozen papers, and went home. And forgot to tell my daughter, or anyone else about it. I mean, it's really no big deal. Little did I know, it was to become a really big deal.

The next day when I went into work (I'm a server), I was waiting on a table of four, and the woman said something that sounded like "Am I in the smoking section?" I really didn't hear her all that well, but I didn't want to look like I hadn't heard her, so I just nodded. Then, I looked down on the table, and there was the paper. "Oh!" I said, "the article!"

I thought it was really neat that someone had noticed it, and recognized me from the picture of me and the kids that I sent in to go with the article.

Well, the next night, my daughter and I were sitting in the living room watching a movie that had me in absolute stitches. I was dying, and you could have probably heard me laughing all the way down the block. And, then, I hear my daughter screaming, "MOM!"

I thought she was calling me down for laughing so loud, so I turn to her, and she's got the newspaper with my article (with the picture) open, and sitting in her lap.

"WHEN DID YOU DO THIS???"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! Isn't that neat?"

"But, MOM," she cries, “it's a TERRIBLE picture of me and you've got it plastered all over the country!" Well, it's a local paper, and I daresay it's plastered anywhere outside of the Eastern Shore, but try telling her that.

Anyway, it's a nice family picture.

The next day, my daughter gets off the phone, and stomps into the living room.

"IT'S ON THE BULLETIN BOARD AT WORK!"

At this point, I have peed my pants from laughing so hard.

It’s not every day a mother gets to humiliate her daughter and I was taking full advantage of it. Like I said, it’s a nice family picture. We were tourists, and looked, um, touristy.

So, today, I get off work and go to a little specialty store near me to pick up a couple of Christmas gifts for two of my co-workers, and no sooner had I placed the gifts on the counter, the two girls behind it whom I’ve never seen in my life said, “You really like the Smokies, don’t you?”

Well, I was all hyped up from work and a full carafe of coffee, so I was gushing all over the place. Then, the manager, who I have never talked to in my life said, “You really liked the Smokies, didn’t you?” LOL…seems this is the question of the day. So, he’s telling me all about this nice little catfish restaurant there, and telling me he’s going to check out my website. Cool deal.

I get home, and my daughter is in the kitchen and I’m telling her about what happened at the specialty store, and she looks at me with that dead-pan face, and says, “I went into Susan’s Seafood today and the woman that owned it said, ‘Your mom sure does like the Smokies, doesn’t she?’”

Well, I’m bursting out in hysterics. This article is getting some pretty good publicity!

Then, my daughter turns to me and says, “You can write books, you can tell people how to write books, you can have websites, you can have ebooks, you can tell people how to find their soul mates, and even get into the OK! Magazine, but you know what you’re going to be famous for? That damn Smoky Mountain article!”

She had a point there. I don’t care. Whatever works. But, it sure is neat. I’ve written articles for the paper before, but never put my picture (or my kids’ pictures) in it, but you know what? From now on, I’m going to start!