EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Just a writer

Here I am, living the dream.

SALES

KEY ACCOUNTS

Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com

AD MANAGER

Noah Kirby noah@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, John Cole, Owens Daniels, James Douglas, Michelle Everette, Luis H. Garay, Destiniee Jaram, Kaitlynn Havens, Jordan Howse, Matt Jones, Autumn Karen, Michaela Ratliff, Jen Sorensen, Todd Turner

WEBMASTER Sam LeBlanc

ART

ART DIRECTOR Charlie Marion charlie@triad-city-beat.com

COVER:

Rosa Malikia Johnson

Design by Charlie Marion

I’m all alone, in a perfectly adequate hotel room, having just finished a modest dinner (perfectly adequate) in the hotel bar and now sitting at the desk in my room, typing away on whatever subject I see fit to commit to newsprint.

I’ve had since I was very young, the kinds of things that knock you on your ass when you take it in all at once.

by Brian Clarey

But it’s all a lie. I’m not really a writer, not anymore, though I like to think I can still arrange the alphabet in a pleasing enough way that it’s worth reading. The truth is that I don’t write that much anymore; I spend much more of my time planning, pontificating, coaching and doing math than that one thing I wanted to do more than anything else when I was first making my way.

I still write stuff, mind you. I write scripts for presentations and marketing plans and so many emails with so many exclamation points — not too many! But I don’t get to write the kinds of things that scratch the itch

I had it once, you know: I was just a writer, with a weekly column and a bunch of editors who took my pitches, years of knitting stories from string I gathered myself and innumerable hotel-room nights with nothing but me and my laptop and a pot of free coffee, typing my way through to the end.

I would say I didn’t know how good I had it, but that would also be a lie. I had dreamed of being just a writer since I was a kid. It took me 10 years to be able to earn enough through my journalism to quit the restaurant business, and another two to bring my freelance career to life. Professionally, it was everything I had ever wanted. Until I wanted more. And now I dream of less.

Next month I’ll be doing some real reporting — the sports desk, not the consequential stuff, the stuff that forever changes everyone who reads it. But it’s enough, for now.

THURSDAY Feb. 2

The Need for Speed: Soap Box Derby Racing in High Point exhibition @ High Point Museum (HP) 10 a.m.

Explore the history of soap box derby racing in High Point by viewing objects and photographs from the 1950s. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

Just Mercy @ Elberson Fine Arts Center (W-S) 7 p.m.

by MICHAELA RATLIFF

2023 Triad Go Red for Women Luncheon @ High Point Country Club (HP) 11:30 a.m. On National Wear Red Day, dress in your best red outfit and join the American Heart Association for the 2023 Triad Go Red for Women Luncheon. The event will include a silent purse-onalities auction, a heart-healthy lunch and learning opportunities about the risks of heart disease and preventing it. Reserve your table at triadgored.heart.org

Doggy Date Night @ Bull City Ciderworks (GSO) 5 p.m.

SUNDAY Feb. 5

BK Market (Local Vendor Pop-Up) @ The Brewer’s Kettle (HP) 2 p.m.

The Brewer’s Kettle is back with another local vendor pop-up. Shop for handcrafted gifts from local artisans before enjoying a variety of beer, wine and cigars. Find more information on the event page on Facebook.

Love Notes @ Greensboro Project Space (GSO) 6 p.m.

RiverRun International Film Festival, in partnership with Wake Forest University’s Face to Face Speaker Forum, presents a free screening of Just Mercy The film, based on the book by Bryan Stevenson, stars Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian and Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, a young defense attorney representing poor people on death row in the South. Visit riverrunfilm.com/just-mercy for more information.

FRIDAY Feb. 3

Black Business Summit @ Enterprise Conference and Event Center (W-S) 8:30 a.m.

Bull City Ciderworks and All Pets Considered are hosting a Doggy Date Night for you to show love to your pet. Mocktail tastings of Nulo bone broth will be available for your dog, with giveaways and chances to win subscription boxes for you. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

SATURDAY Feb. 4

Wristband @ Joymongers Brewing Co. (GSO) 7:30 p.m.

JOYEMOVEMENT is excited to premiere their newest live dance performance project Love Notes. Love Notes, choreographed by JOYEMOVEMENT founder Alexandra Joye Warren in collaboration with poet Lavinia Jackson and others, explores human connection through movement. Purchase tickets on Eventbrite

MONDAY Feb. 6

Book Lovers Social @ Greensboro Public Library (GSO) 6:30 p.m.

Wristband invites you to dance along to their covers of classic rock and roll songs from the 60s and 70s.

Join the Greensboro Public Library, fellow book lovers and Jamila Minnicks, author of fiction novel Moonrise Over New Jessup, for the 14th Annual Book Lovers Social. Enjoy refreshments while learning more about the library’s top reads of 2022. Register to attend in person by emailing Beth.Sheffield@greensboro-nc.gov or livestream from the library’s Facebook page

Black entrepreneurs working from the Enterprise Center will partner with the Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Center of Forsyth Technical Community College and others for networking opportunities and panel discussions about funding for small businesses. Register on Eventbrite

In the Air Tonight @ R.J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

As part of its Music That Pops concert series, the Winston-Salem Symphony presents In The Air Tonight, performances of music by rock icons Genesis and Phil Collins led by guest conductor Stuart Chafetz. Purchase tickets at wssymphony. org