Erma Bombeck, Where are You When I Need You?

My name is Dorothy Rund Ng. I created this website and, hence, this blog because I have always believed that God put me on this earth to say something. And I mean that in the most humblest way. He gave me the talent/gift to write. I do this to glorify Him. Erma Bombeck is one of my writing heroes. I may need to channel her sometimes as I write this blog.

In case you are too young to know who she is, let me give you a brief bio on her life. She was an American humorist who wrote a syndicated newspaper column and several bestselling books such as Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own; If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits; Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession, and When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time to Go Home. In her column, At Wit’s End, she described the suburban home life for 31 years.

Growing Up Reading Erma Bombeck

My mom read Erma’s column every morning when it was published. Over her bowl of cereal, Mom laughed so hard you could hear her throughout the house. “What’s so funny, Mommy?” I asked. “Oh, you’ll understand when you have a family,” was always her reply. My teenage years began my quest to be like Erma. How come things like that don’t happen in my family,? I wondered. Sometimes I just didn’t “get” it. But I wanted to. And true to my mom’s words, when I became a wife and mother I truly appreciated what Erma wrote. I finally got it: things like that do happen in my family.

How would Erma react to this situation? I often ask myself. Would she find the humor or would she make it thought-provoking and have you grabbing for a tissue? I miss Erma. When she died in 1996, the world lost some laughter.

I Miss Erma

I do not have Erma anymore but I do have Maybelle. Maybelle Crabtree is my alter ego. A bit eccentric, she fancies herself a philosopher and loves to give advice which should be taken with a grain of salt. Old enough to know better, she usually does it anyway. She and her husband, Tom, raised 3 children – 1 son and 2 daughters – in their house on Primrose Lane. She thinks she is the next Erma Bombeck. Did I say sometimes she is a little delusional? Well, her heart is in the right place.

Please join Maybelle as she narrates the comings and goings of Life on Primrose Lane. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be glad you live somewhere else! But there is never a dull moment on Primrose Lane.