Charles Mudede is a treasure. His observational wit, intelligence, and lefter-than-left political leanings warmed the cockles of my heart during many sunless Seattle days. When he started following me on Twitter a few months ago, I *might* have squealed.
A few weeks ago I decided to start challenging myself to pitch more story ideas. Pitching sucks, but I'm hoping to get better with practice. So I pitched The Stranger on a story idea about a huge dust-up on Beacon Hill Facebook pages regarding racism in "America's Most Diverse Zip Code." I tried to sound funny in my pitch and wrote that Charles Mudede following me on Twitter was one of the highlights of my career. I didn't hear anything, but I patted myself on the back for practicing.
Then Mudede emailed me. (Gulp.) He wanted to talk on the phone! We set an appointment for noon. I was so nervous all morning. When he called I could barely breathe. I spoke so fast that I'm amazed he was able to understand one word in ten. But he was so nice! And he liked my idea! He asked me for 700 words ASAP!
I was excited for Mudede to edit my writing, and I'm very proud of the article "A Black Man Knocks on the Door of a House in Beacon Hill, and..." It feels very surreal and exciting. Off to more practice pitching!