Krista Ramsey Blog Post: Bear in the Neighborhood? Thrilling, Not Nuisance

Krista Ramsey Bear Column

Krista's column talks about a bear that was rambling through her Montgomery neighborhood. She goes on to thinking that the bears shouldn't be a nuisance to the people, in fact, they should be left alone because they are marvelous creatures just like us.

One line that I thinks is best written is, "We say it's our property. We want her to move along. There must be some ordinance she's breaking. She doesn't care. Whose land was it first?". This line greatly impacts the reader because it really shows why bears or any other animal shouldn't be a bother to people. It is the animals' land and they are abiding by their natural laws. Bears are not breaking any law or ordinance for being at that specific place. This line really shows the meaning of this column. Some observations about the syntax of this line is that Krista uses short, detached sentences to create more emphasis on her writing and the tone. The diction also shows the mood of the author and how she really feels about bears being a nuisance to people (strongly disagrees).

Ramsey's writing style is that she starts off saying a lot of detail in the beginning and she ends it by saying a brief sentence that leaves a lasting impact on the reader. For example in "For better vision, kids need time outdoors" article, she states, "What all kids need is more training in three dimensions, Clark says. Life is not two-dimensional." The last couple of words about life is true and connects back to her topic. A second example is in "Super Bowl QBs score points for great style" article, she says, "And as you look down at your fitted blazer and heels in a sea of shorts, T-shirts and nylon jackets at your daughter's college graduation, you probably wondered why you bothered. Keep bothering." The reader wouldn't expect that the author would write only two words at the end but you can tell those two words were meaningful. A last example is in "Bear in the Neighborhood? Thrilling, Not Nuisance", she explains "It will likely be 100 years before another bear has the directional challenges – or chutzpah – to come lumbering through my neighborhood. I hope, when he does, people smile over their coffee and let him pass." Again, Krista starts off with some detail and ends with a lasting impact to the reader. All 3 examples show how Ramsey's writing style is and how much it's effective.

Three Questions to the Author:
1) Are you writing columns in additional newspapers, other than the Cincinnati Enquirer? If so, what are they?
2) How is your career in writing in newspapers? Is it a great experience for you?

3) When you were in college, were you thinking of being a columnist or something else?

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