Little did I know how much you like the contest

By BARB SHAFFER

I really thought I was prepared for this year’s Love Story contest.

Last year’s — the first of its kind for The Vindicator ... and for me — taught me so much. It would be a piece of cake this time around.

Little did I know how many of you were apparently just waiting for this year’s contest to roll around.

Just as it did before, my e-mail inbox greeted me with entries the very next day after the promotion ran. And they continued arriving well after the deadline. The surprise wasn’t the number of entries I received. It was the entries themselves.

While I’m a sucker for the happily-ever-after type of ending the majority of you chose, those of you who threw the characters a curve ball with unexpected drama — even trauma — can rest assured, the judges and I gave all entries the same consideration.

The bottom line is, it was the creativity and imagination that caused me to crack a smile or even break into a laugh that set the winners apart.

But not by far. I have to confess that having Patti conk Mary on the head and stuffing her into the closet made the first round of cuts. So did having Patti cut Mary’s brake line, only to have Mike drive the car, wreck and suffer injuries that left him disfigured beyond recognition. Geez! I was eating lunch when I got to that one!

But I’ve got to tell you, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I read that Patti drew a gun and, just as she pulled the trigger, Mike stepped in front of Mary and took the bullet instead. You think that was upsetting? There was more. Just as Mike took his last, dying breath, Patti turned the gun on herself! Good grief. Good stuff. A Harlequin Romance reader, I’d be willing to bet.

Special recognition

Although it wasn’t one of the prize-winning submissions, Ashley Bailey’s entry was the most impressive. No, it wasn’t because she outwrote the others. It was because she’s only 11 years old, and she really held her own in competing with the big kids. Nice job, Ashley.

And thanks, Jaye Beshara, Ashley’s Wednesday night Bible study teacher at Metro Assembly of God, for going that extra mile to make sure her entry arrived.

Playing by the rules

Little did I know how serious some participants would be. At the conclusion of last year’s contest, I exchanged several e-mails with one contestant who was objecting because the winning entries were longer than 500 words.

I explained that the phrase “500 or so words” was merely meant to be a target. Nothing more. But the complaint that “I might have written a much better story if I had known I could go longer” made me realize that if this person was that serious about the competition, the rest of them likely were, too.

So this year I suspected I needed to be serious about enforcing rules, not suggesting guidelines. I was certain of that when the same man called at the beginning of this year’s contest — to remind me of his dissatisfaction with last year’s. OK. I get it.

So this year’s length rule was enforced. But not until I made sure my computer had word count. So, go ahead. Count away.

Just for fun

At the end of it all, I am happy to say these are the three who get the prizes. But I’m even happier that all of you got the whole concept behind this contest. Um, all except for the sole critic who lobbed an “e-bomb” at me, lambasting me for being “stuck in the ’50s — alongside Ward and June Cleaver — with such a ridiculous and dated story.”

I’m so glad the response of the rest of you validates that the story wasn’t meant to imply that YSU students are as immature as Patti nor that they are enrolled in college only to find a mate. Puuulease.

Thanks to the 99.9 percent of you for receiving this contest in the spirit in which it was offered — an opportunity to have some good clean fun while trying to win a prize for your sweetheart.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all.

• Barb Shaffer is Society/Features Editor for The Vindicator.