Hi . . . My Name is Judy
Introducing myself to you, the ILLUMINATION community
I am a humorist. I learned about the power of humor early on. When things were tense in my childhood home, I found out I could change the mood by making the adults laugh. Humor changes things. And people. For the better.
My early love of words and language led me to a B.A. in English and French literature. Since then I’ve pretty much always earned my living with words: primarily as a business publications editor— and, creatively, as a lyricist.
I come from a creative family. My brother is children’s singer/songwriter RONNO. Over the years, I partnered with him in writing the lyrics to over 100 published songs. For a time I even became a puppeteer to help launch our kids’ music in schools and resorts across Ontario, Canada.
Frankly I was a pretty bad puppeteer. Or, as my sheep puppets would have put it, ba-a-a-ad. (Sorry.) But the time I spent with my arms up my puppets’ backsides taught me a lot about engaging an audience. I wrote about it here:
The lyric I’m proudest of is a tribute to teachers titled “In Your Hands: A Song for My Teacher.” The video has had 2.5 million views on YouTube. Kids from all over the globe write to say they sang it in a school concert or for their teacher’s retirement. Their comments about how it made them cry with love for their teacher are worth more to me than any royalty.
After taking early retirement from my corporate communications role, my husband and I moved to beautiful Vancouver Island. I tried my hand at writing short fiction and even won some awards but found I was having more fun writing humorous essays. Some of those have been published in Reader’s Digest (Canada), Writer’s Digest and anthologies like Flash Nonfiction Funny.
It’s daunting to pull up lifelong stakes and move across the country as a senior. I was homesick for Ontario but once I connected with writers here, I got my groove back. Some of my new writer-friends encouraged me to take up storytelling. Telling a story to an audience — performing your work, with no paper “crutch” to hold onto or read from — was TERRIFYING to me.
Still, I found I loved the connection that happens with an audience. As writers we put our words out into what feels like a void. Even if they’re published, we rarely know how our readers respond to them. Seeing people connect and react in real time to words you wrote is SO gratifying. And hearing audiences burst out laughing? That can’t be faked. It’s the best reward ever.
So I was writing and performing my own humor, plus coaching others in flexing their own funny bones and growing their own creativity, when COVID-19 hit. My upcoming performances, workshops and lectures were cancelled or postponed indefinitely. But then I discovered Medium — a whole new playground to explore!
I’m still finding my way around here. So far I’ve had fun taking humorous pokes at guys like Henry VIII … as well as sharing creativity advice, writing tips and silly limericks (because my brain still has to rhyme sometimes!).
But the big bonus for me has been discovering YOU: so many new (to me) voices, discussing all kinds of diverse topics, especially here on Illumination. I find I’m not getting at my own writing because I can’t stop reading yours!
Thank you for welcoming me. If you’d like to connect, I would LOVE to hear from you. (You can reach me at judy@ judymillar.ca or via my web site.) In the meantime, and especially in these turbulent times, remember that humor can help us humans cope with all “the crazy.”
Charlie Chaplin once said, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” May you never waste a single day!
~ Judy
