WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT SMALL WONDERS AND PATRICK CANEDAY
I wish I could state that I have been a long-time follower of "Small Wonders" but the truth is it's only been the last three or four months that I began reading your column. Having admitted that, it is my regret that I didn't begin sooner.
Your writing is thought provoking, often inspiring, witty and humorous. So frequently your comments "nail" the thoughts and emotions of this reader on a number of levels and I find myself thinking, "I couldn't have said it better." I truly enjoy your column and it is the high point of my Saturday mornings.
Nor small is your column. Each time I read it, I find myself wanting more and thinking there's has to be a book inside this Patrick Caneday. All these seemingly mundane day-to-day life experiences and observations display a prism of texture and vibrancy of a real life wordsmith who has the ability to take a "small wonder" and reveal the magnificence of life. Thank you so much for sharing this natural talent and reminding me to look at the big picture and not sweat the small stuff.
I was about to cancel my subscription to the Leader, when I didn't see your column, on the front page...I thought, the world, as I know and like it, had come to an end...Then I found you on page 7. Boy the Leader dodged a bullet on that one!!
Because of you, Patrick Caneday, I finally look forward to the Saturday addition of the Burbank Leader. Your column is delightful!- the Leader is lucky to have you- as am I.
Reading your articles is a little like going to the movies for me. I quickly feel like I'm in whatever setting you're describing, sitting around your neighbor's fire pit, or waddling out of the Hollywood Bowl ("waddling", how perfectly phrased!).
I wanted to send a note your way and just thank you for your stories in the Burbank Leader. I thoroughly enjoy reading each one and sharing them with my husband and friends. Your recent two on the kids and the ice cream truck and golf with your buddies were really terrific!
I can’t think of another time I wrote the author, but I wanted to express a thank you to you personally.
Thanks again for the laughs, insight and great writing.
Your writing touches the places we should all go in our lives. Remember what is really important.
I always enjoy your wonderful and beautifully written columns in The Leader. Today your column has finally elicited a response from me. Keep up your fine work!
I thoroughly enjoy your articles but you really outdid yourself today.
As a freelance writer myself, I think you have exceptional talent and I hope your writing some day reaches far beyond the pages of our local newspaper.
I don't often respond to newspaper columns, however, yours ("Losing my job, losing control" Glendale Newspress, Nov. 7) struck a nerve with me.
Your column summed it up beautifully and I could not have laid out one's feelings any better than you did. I felt inspired and uplifted by your column. Thank you for your words of support and encouragement, not just for me, but for the countless many that are struggling in a jobless period.
A lovely, warm, wonderful reminiscence. Thank you. Just started my day out on the right track.
I am a regular subscriber to the Glendale News Press, but it's been quite a long time since I've taken the time to read it. Reports of the fires have [lately] renewed my interest since a local perspective is infinitely more relevant and interesting.
I am compelled to write you to let you know I was moved by the 'beauty' of your writing in today's column. You touched on a moment in time that evokes intense feelings, and you expressed them with great sensitivity and perception.
Thank you.
I just finished reading your article and it's amazing because I could relate to so much of what you wrote.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for your article; it's comforting to know that there are people out there who feel the same way. Writing to a stranger and sharing personal information is definitely a change, but I guess we have to start small and work our way up.
Letting go is hard but as you said, "I'm not in control."
Keep writing!
What a joy to read your articles in the Leader.
In these rather troubling times it's wonderful, to be able smile, when reading the front page of ANY newspaper.
Which ever, please keep up the good work. You have a wonderful take on things.
You really have a knack for zeroing in on everyday tidbits. I especially liked your reference to high school and how you perceive yourself from that time on. So true.
Anyway, thought I would let you know how enjoyable your column is!
You have a combination of wisdom, compassion, common sense and humor that is far above anyone else's I know.
All the best and keep up the good work. I look forward to the Leader for your column.
I couldn't agree with you more. That was a great article, well written with all the points I would have mentioned (including dog droppings)…thanks for the great article, I hope everyone reads it.
Congratulations Patrick on a well written editorial! I couldn't agree more on everything you said. If only people in society used a little more common sense in regulating their behavior instead of having our government tend to that task, thus allowing them to spend more time on important issues.
You sure know how to make a grown woman cry!
What an absolutely beautiful epitaph to your grandmother. I know she's smiling. Please accept my condolences, for your loss.
Patrick, thanks for the great column. Keep up the good work.
You truly wrote from your heart and surely touched many hearts.
Congratulations on your column and may you continue to find writing rewarding.
With your insights you will have a life filled with blessings.
Looking forward to following your career and meeting you in person someday.
Just wanted to commend you for a great Small Wonders column: "Slow Down with a simple cup of coffee" from the Burbank Leader (4-11-09). You are right that we spend our lives rushing around doing things and not truly smelling the coffee. What you described is the essence of living in the 21st century.
Wheee! You are a “priceless” addition to Glumdale (excuse me - GLENdale) and its weekend edition of news-de-Press.
Good morning Patrick. I just read you piece in this morning's GD News Press.
I am 47 years old. I remember my childhood experience as you did.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane.
Well written. Sharp writing.
I just, today, read your weekend column in the Glendale News Press.
Thank you! It is perfect and I am going to copy it and send it to my two grandsons who are just graduating High School. And, their parents too. And my other child who has no child yet.
I love reading good articles
& yours touched a chord!!!
keep up the good work
I’ve just recently started reading your articles in the Leader and you are becoming habit forming!
I look forward to reading more of your work.
I can’t help but write and thank you for writing about Barbara and sharing your experiences at Pavilions. The articles made me laugh and cry and reminded me about the simple treasures in life that should never be forgotten.
Thank you!!
Very beautiful article. It brought tears to my eyes. Very nicely written !
I read your piece, "Walking away a satisfied father." It was so honest and clear. Thank you so much for writing it! I'm sorry I don't have more to say; I know you would appreciate in-depth feedback, but I'm not very good at explaining how I feel about things. Yeah, though. I really enjoyed reading it, thank you!
Patrick! This column absolutely rocked!
Your article was a wonderful heartfelt read – every word. I wish more families would spend that kind of quality time together. I trust many others who read what you had written will feel the inspiration to facilitate an open mind ideal for enjoying life’s little pleasures.
You made me laugh outloud this morning. Ever since I have been given an Ipod Touch on loan for a project at work--I have been addicted.
The article was great, very funny and oh so true.
I wanted to give you kudos for that great report on the iPhone that appeared on the Glendale News Press today Saturday the 8th.
Anyway, amongst the million of messages you must be receiving about this report, I wanted to personally thank you for bringing a ton of smiles and nods of appreciation, to all my friends and family when I shared your report with them. Your humor and upbeat writing style captivated my attention immediately, enough to get me writing this e-mail to you. Congratulations for a job well done.
Keep them coming.
Just wanted to comment on your column today! Fabulous words about marriage! You have such a wonderful gift in expressing thoughts and I just look so forward to reading your work each week. Hope you and your family are well!
You certainly know what you are talking about! You should go into premarital counseling. That was a truly fine article you wrote about marriage in today’s News Press. I qualify as an experienced critic, having been married for 55+ years. Thank you for writing the article. You and Dan Kimber are among the few journalists who keep up my faith in daily newspapers.
I always look forward to reading your “Small Wonders” column in the Burbank Leader, but this week’s essay on marriage was particularly poignant. My husband could tell by my expression that I’d read something meaningful to me, and a few minutes later he was leaning over the page and agreeing that this essay was something special.
Although my daughter is only 7 (we celebrated her birthday just this weekend), I know there will come a day when she asks what marriage means, what value it has, and what she can expect from it. I’m saving your article for that day. The trick will be if, when that time comes, I can remember where I put it!
Thank you for sharing yourself with us each week. I look forward to reading more.
Your writings just come to you, like everyday life. That's what's so amazing and touching about them. We all can relate to them in so many ways.
So, yes I do enjoy your column and relate to it in so many ways, as I'm sure we all do. So as you experience your everyday life this week, and are unsure about what you'll write about, at the end of it all... you'll touch us all with your humanity and the little things that so many of us need to hear but don't realize it, until it appears in our Saturday paper, with your name at the end.
thanks for giving of yourself and your family life…
Can't even tell you HOW true/relevant what you wrote is to my life right now - all the way down to the "new haircut", which I am very much planning on doing on a very significant upcoming date for me (leavin' my effin' job, woo hoo!)
I'd take up way too much of your time explaining all the ways this fits into my current mode of thinking and where I am in my life, and I don't think you'd want to read a novel in your e-mail, but I just wanted to thank you for it and tell you that you're a great writer....please don't let the fear paralyze you with inaction...deep down you know what's right for you, and you have to do it for yourself no matter what....the hardest part of life is following the amazing advice you're obviously so great at dishing out to those around you...
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your articles every Saturday in the Burbank Leader. They are so well written, refreshing, and you paint such a wonderful picture with each one. Too bad you don't write for them twice a week Your articles are one of the few things worth reading about in that paper. Thanks again and I look forward to each one.
Thank you for your column in the Glendale News Press, Weekend edition August 29-30.
Thanks again for saying something I very much needed to hear. All the best...
I simply HATE football, but LOVE your article, SMALL WONDERS: Smell of Not Quite Victory," which appeared in tonight's online issue of the Glendale News Press (September 18, 2009, 8:17 p.m.)
It was WITTILY funny, and I truly identified with "fresh-cut grass" -- on ANY morning.
This is the first of your articles that I have read, and hope to see more.
Had your e-mail address not been shown there, I would be left mumbling into the night, "God, that's a well-written piece!" So, NOW, my thoughts have actually 'found their mark', so to speak. I also intend forwarding your column to an ol' Glendale-area classmate who had moved to another state. Keep up the good writing -- please!
You are a gifted writer, and make me want to get up early on Saturday mornings to read your column. Today you made my day! This is one I will cut out for my scrapbook.
Regarding your column in the News-Press about Roman Polanski - you are right on! Thank you for expressing my feelings exactly.
I have thought many times about writing to you, as I am always impressed and respectful of your views, and your beautiful way of expressing them.
This week, however, I can no longer remain in silent awe.
Your courage and obvious clarity about the black and white nature of the situation regarding Roman Polanski is so admirable, and I wish and hope that your local column finds its way into national and worldwide consciousness;
Also, thanks for your insight into life as it is now in this world. My overriding hope is that your way of looking at life will begin to be more the norm than the hateful ways that people can sometimes 'relate' to one another.
My husband gave me your column to read today. We were very touched by your column and the letter that was within it. Is there a way we could read the original column that was referred to in the letter. I think it is a wonderful gift when a person can write something and touch many lives.
That was a beautiful piece. My youngest son is getting married next month ... I will share it with David and his fiancee. It is so important to realize that storms can be weathered, some years are just difficult...but the growth that takes place both individually and as a couple is well worth the price of perseverance and commitment.
I sincerely hope you will continue to write your column for a very long time...especially for those of us, of another era, who still love holding and reading the newspaper. Thanks again....
Very nice article in the News Press today. Well written and thoughtful content. Best thing I have read in awhile, especially in the News Press.
Thank you for writing such a wonderful article in today's Glendale News Press. I will visit the website and drop by the shelter. I love to help where help is needed.
I have been following your articles for a while now and really love the way you write. I have cut out a few of them and saved them to show my husband and friends. I especially love the story about when you tried to write but your daughters were distracting you! That was so sweet...and I love your article on 'marriage' and what is important in a relationship between 2 people. That was so touching.
Anyway, I look forward to your next story what ever it is. I think that if you wrote even about a styrofoam cup it would probably be interesting.
Your writing is thought provoking, often inspiring, witty and humorous. So frequently your comments "nail" the thoughts and emotions of this reader on a number of levels and I find myself thinking, "I couldn't have said it better." I truly enjoy your column and it is the high point of my Saturday mornings.
Nor small is your column. Each time I read it, I find myself wanting more and thinking there's has to be a book inside this Patrick Caneday. All these seemingly mundane day-to-day life experiences and observations display a prism of texture and vibrancy of a real life wordsmith who has the ability to take a "small wonder" and reveal the magnificence of life. Thank you so much for sharing this natural talent and reminding me to look at the big picture and not sweat the small stuff.
I was about to cancel my subscription to the Leader, when I didn't see your column, on the front page...I thought, the world, as I know and like it, had come to an end...Then I found you on page 7. Boy the Leader dodged a bullet on that one!!
Because of you, Patrick Caneday, I finally look forward to the Saturday addition of the Burbank Leader. Your column is delightful!- the Leader is lucky to have you- as am I.
Reading your articles is a little like going to the movies for me. I quickly feel like I'm in whatever setting you're describing, sitting around your neighbor's fire pit, or waddling out of the Hollywood Bowl ("waddling", how perfectly phrased!).
I wanted to send a note your way and just thank you for your stories in the Burbank Leader. I thoroughly enjoy reading each one and sharing them with my husband and friends. Your recent two on the kids and the ice cream truck and golf with your buddies were really terrific!
I can’t think of another time I wrote the author, but I wanted to express a thank you to you personally.
Thanks again for the laughs, insight and great writing.
Your writing touches the places we should all go in our lives. Remember what is really important.
I always enjoy your wonderful and beautifully written columns in The Leader. Today your column has finally elicited a response from me. Keep up your fine work!
I thoroughly enjoy your articles but you really outdid yourself today.
As a freelance writer myself, I think you have exceptional talent and I hope your writing some day reaches far beyond the pages of our local newspaper.
I don't often respond to newspaper columns, however, yours ("Losing my job, losing control" Glendale Newspress, Nov. 7) struck a nerve with me.
Your column summed it up beautifully and I could not have laid out one's feelings any better than you did. I felt inspired and uplifted by your column. Thank you for your words of support and encouragement, not just for me, but for the countless many that are struggling in a jobless period.
A lovely, warm, wonderful reminiscence. Thank you. Just started my day out on the right track.
I am a regular subscriber to the Glendale News Press, but it's been quite a long time since I've taken the time to read it. Reports of the fires have [lately] renewed my interest since a local perspective is infinitely more relevant and interesting.
I am compelled to write you to let you know I was moved by the 'beauty' of your writing in today's column. You touched on a moment in time that evokes intense feelings, and you expressed them with great sensitivity and perception.
Thank you.
I just finished reading your article and it's amazing because I could relate to so much of what you wrote.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for your article; it's comforting to know that there are people out there who feel the same way. Writing to a stranger and sharing personal information is definitely a change, but I guess we have to start small and work our way up.
Letting go is hard but as you said, "I'm not in control."
Keep writing!
What a joy to read your articles in the Leader.
In these rather troubling times it's wonderful, to be able smile, when reading the front page of ANY newspaper.
Which ever, please keep up the good work. You have a wonderful take on things.
You really have a knack for zeroing in on everyday tidbits. I especially liked your reference to high school and how you perceive yourself from that time on. So true.
Anyway, thought I would let you know how enjoyable your column is!
You have a combination of wisdom, compassion, common sense and humor that is far above anyone else's I know.
All the best and keep up the good work. I look forward to the Leader for your column.
I couldn't agree with you more. That was a great article, well written with all the points I would have mentioned (including dog droppings)…thanks for the great article, I hope everyone reads it.
Congratulations Patrick on a well written editorial! I couldn't agree more on everything you said. If only people in society used a little more common sense in regulating their behavior instead of having our government tend to that task, thus allowing them to spend more time on important issues.
You sure know how to make a grown woman cry!
What an absolutely beautiful epitaph to your grandmother. I know she's smiling. Please accept my condolences, for your loss.
Patrick, thanks for the great column. Keep up the good work.
You truly wrote from your heart and surely touched many hearts.
Congratulations on your column and may you continue to find writing rewarding.
With your insights you will have a life filled with blessings.
Looking forward to following your career and meeting you in person someday.
Just wanted to commend you for a great Small Wonders column: "Slow Down with a simple cup of coffee" from the Burbank Leader (4-11-09). You are right that we spend our lives rushing around doing things and not truly smelling the coffee. What you described is the essence of living in the 21st century.
Wheee! You are a “priceless” addition to Glumdale (excuse me - GLENdale) and its weekend edition of news-de-Press.
Good morning Patrick. I just read you piece in this morning's GD News Press.
I am 47 years old. I remember my childhood experience as you did.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane.
Well written. Sharp writing.
I just, today, read your weekend column in the Glendale News Press.
Thank you! It is perfect and I am going to copy it and send it to my two grandsons who are just graduating High School. And, their parents too. And my other child who has no child yet.
I love reading good articles
& yours touched a chord!!!
keep up the good work
I’ve just recently started reading your articles in the Leader and you are becoming habit forming!
I look forward to reading more of your work.
I can’t help but write and thank you for writing about Barbara and sharing your experiences at Pavilions. The articles made me laugh and cry and reminded me about the simple treasures in life that should never be forgotten.
Thank you!!
Very beautiful article. It brought tears to my eyes. Very nicely written !
I read your piece, "Walking away a satisfied father." It was so honest and clear. Thank you so much for writing it! I'm sorry I don't have more to say; I know you would appreciate in-depth feedback, but I'm not very good at explaining how I feel about things. Yeah, though. I really enjoyed reading it, thank you!
Patrick! This column absolutely rocked!
Your article was a wonderful heartfelt read – every word. I wish more families would spend that kind of quality time together. I trust many others who read what you had written will feel the inspiration to facilitate an open mind ideal for enjoying life’s little pleasures.
You made me laugh outloud this morning. Ever since I have been given an Ipod Touch on loan for a project at work--I have been addicted.
The article was great, very funny and oh so true.
I wanted to give you kudos for that great report on the iPhone that appeared on the Glendale News Press today Saturday the 8th.
Anyway, amongst the million of messages you must be receiving about this report, I wanted to personally thank you for bringing a ton of smiles and nods of appreciation, to all my friends and family when I shared your report with them. Your humor and upbeat writing style captivated my attention immediately, enough to get me writing this e-mail to you. Congratulations for a job well done.
Keep them coming.
Just wanted to comment on your column today! Fabulous words about marriage! You have such a wonderful gift in expressing thoughts and I just look so forward to reading your work each week. Hope you and your family are well!
You certainly know what you are talking about! You should go into premarital counseling. That was a truly fine article you wrote about marriage in today’s News Press. I qualify as an experienced critic, having been married for 55+ years. Thank you for writing the article. You and Dan Kimber are among the few journalists who keep up my faith in daily newspapers.
I always look forward to reading your “Small Wonders” column in the Burbank Leader, but this week’s essay on marriage was particularly poignant. My husband could tell by my expression that I’d read something meaningful to me, and a few minutes later he was leaning over the page and agreeing that this essay was something special.
Although my daughter is only 7 (we celebrated her birthday just this weekend), I know there will come a day when she asks what marriage means, what value it has, and what she can expect from it. I’m saving your article for that day. The trick will be if, when that time comes, I can remember where I put it!
Thank you for sharing yourself with us each week. I look forward to reading more.
Your writings just come to you, like everyday life. That's what's so amazing and touching about them. We all can relate to them in so many ways.
So, yes I do enjoy your column and relate to it in so many ways, as I'm sure we all do. So as you experience your everyday life this week, and are unsure about what you'll write about, at the end of it all... you'll touch us all with your humanity and the little things that so many of us need to hear but don't realize it, until it appears in our Saturday paper, with your name at the end.
thanks for giving of yourself and your family life…
Can't even tell you HOW true/relevant what you wrote is to my life right now - all the way down to the "new haircut", which I am very much planning on doing on a very significant upcoming date for me (leavin' my effin' job, woo hoo!)
I'd take up way too much of your time explaining all the ways this fits into my current mode of thinking and where I am in my life, and I don't think you'd want to read a novel in your e-mail, but I just wanted to thank you for it and tell you that you're a great writer....please don't let the fear paralyze you with inaction...deep down you know what's right for you, and you have to do it for yourself no matter what....the hardest part of life is following the amazing advice you're obviously so great at dishing out to those around you...
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your articles every Saturday in the Burbank Leader. They are so well written, refreshing, and you paint such a wonderful picture with each one. Too bad you don't write for them twice a week Your articles are one of the few things worth reading about in that paper. Thanks again and I look forward to each one.
Thank you for your column in the Glendale News Press, Weekend edition August 29-30.
Thanks again for saying something I very much needed to hear. All the best...
I simply HATE football, but LOVE your article, SMALL WONDERS: Smell of Not Quite Victory," which appeared in tonight's online issue of the Glendale News Press (September 18, 2009, 8:17 p.m.)
It was WITTILY funny, and I truly identified with "fresh-cut grass" -- on ANY morning.
This is the first of your articles that I have read, and hope to see more.
Had your e-mail address not been shown there, I would be left mumbling into the night, "God, that's a well-written piece!" So, NOW, my thoughts have actually 'found their mark', so to speak. I also intend forwarding your column to an ol' Glendale-area classmate who had moved to another state. Keep up the good writing -- please!
You are a gifted writer, and make me want to get up early on Saturday mornings to read your column. Today you made my day! This is one I will cut out for my scrapbook.
Regarding your column in the News-Press about Roman Polanski - you are right on! Thank you for expressing my feelings exactly.
I have thought many times about writing to you, as I am always impressed and respectful of your views, and your beautiful way of expressing them.
This week, however, I can no longer remain in silent awe.
Your courage and obvious clarity about the black and white nature of the situation regarding Roman Polanski is so admirable, and I wish and hope that your local column finds its way into national and worldwide consciousness;
Also, thanks for your insight into life as it is now in this world. My overriding hope is that your way of looking at life will begin to be more the norm than the hateful ways that people can sometimes 'relate' to one another.
My husband gave me your column to read today. We were very touched by your column and the letter that was within it. Is there a way we could read the original column that was referred to in the letter. I think it is a wonderful gift when a person can write something and touch many lives.
That was a beautiful piece. My youngest son is getting married next month ... I will share it with David and his fiancee. It is so important to realize that storms can be weathered, some years are just difficult...but the growth that takes place both individually and as a couple is well worth the price of perseverance and commitment.
I sincerely hope you will continue to write your column for a very long time...especially for those of us, of another era, who still love holding and reading the newspaper. Thanks again....
Very nice article in the News Press today. Well written and thoughtful content. Best thing I have read in awhile, especially in the News Press.
Thank you for writing such a wonderful article in today's Glendale News Press. I will visit the website and drop by the shelter. I love to help where help is needed.
I have been following your articles for a while now and really love the way you write. I have cut out a few of them and saved them to show my husband and friends. I especially love the story about when you tried to write but your daughters were distracting you! That was so sweet...and I love your article on 'marriage' and what is important in a relationship between 2 people. That was so touching.
Anyway, I look forward to your next story what ever it is. I think that if you wrote even about a styrofoam cup it would probably be interesting.
