Alpha and Omega

I remember it was late summer of 2005.

After three years in Florida, I was back in St. Louis with my grandma and my dog, hiding from the fifth hurricane of the season.

I had grown tired of hearing Howard Stern whine about how everyone in show business had stolen every idea from him, how the FCC was unnecessarily crucifying him, and how he could not wait to make the move to satellite radio. Being unfamiliar with the radio offering in St. Louis, I flipped around both dials and randomly landed on 590 AM. Some guy was on a rant about some sports thing. I had no idea who he was or what he was talking about, but I was hooked on his voice and his conviction to his point on the subject.

The guy on the radio was Tim McKernan, and I still have no idea what he was talking about; however, if not for the seek mode on my Honda Accord radio, I might not be writing this right now…or anything else I have written for the last two-plus years.

At some point during this tirade, Tim mentioned that he was starting a website, and well, the rest is history.

From this chance encounter, and a few subsequent exposures of my girl stuff on his message board, Maggie on Top was born.

And my life would never be the same.
 
Until this point in my life, I was pretty sure I had only two talents. Actually, the first was not so much a talent as it was my ability to overcome my natural gag-reflex. The second talent was merely knowing what the first talent was. Tim gave me an opportunity to write (mostly about my first talent) and while the jury is still out on writing being a talent I possess, I managed to write 1,000 or so words every week and arrange them in some semblance of order; which did not totally alienate too many visitors to the site.

The original advertisement called for a local girl to write candidly about sex, and while the column did undergo somewhat of an evolution of sorts, sex was usually the prevailing theme and focus. Initially, I wrote about sexual topics of a generic nature, a past sexual experience, or perhaps just about how sex had played a role in defining my character and personality today. Eventually, I began to write articles of a more personal experience type, and I think that is when people really began to relate. At least, that is when the feedback began to increase. For some reason, people seemed to identify with the often predictable and comparably mundane aspects of the sex life of a girl who lived five states away.

My husband, David, has never really gotten on board with what I share here. Oh, he tolerates the creative outlet it provides for me, but he has never really embraced it. Regular readers can prolly understand his aversion, since I often make light of his sexual prowess, intelligence quotient, and lifestyle, all in the interest of sophomoric laughs and mediocre journalism.

Despite suggestions and assumptions from myriad detractors, wannabes, and just plain haters, David and I have a great marriage and he is truly the man of my dreams. I am aware that I out-kicked my coverage when I landed him. I have never met a man with his capacity for compassion and humility...I am blessed.

The direction of the column took another turn when David's best friend, Nick, entered the picture. His presence not only enriched my life on a prurient and fantastical level, the content of Maggie on Top was also affected. Most readers seem to connect with the dysfunctional relationship the three of us enjoy, and Nick is by far the most popular character in the soap opera I share each week.
 
I have never been one to care so much about what other people might think of me. If I were overly sensitive in this area, I certainly made a poor career choice.
 
Clearly, anyone who is bold (or vain) enough to write about their life on the internet, should expect criticism, judgment, and often, ridicule. I will admit I was naive in this area initially; however, as time passed, I became more calloused, and eventually, embraced the criticism and used it to grow. After all, if everyone was just like me, the world would be a boring place.
 
I was hired to help create traffic for a new website. Along the way, I made a lot of friends. I became a character that some people loved, and others loved to hate.

I appreciate all Tim has done for me, and I appreciate the battle he fought to keep Maggie on Top alive as long as he did. I firmly believe that no other publisher would ever have given me the opportunity to write the things I did.

My appreciation does not end with Tim. Several other people connected with InsideSTL played significant and necessary roles in the success of Maggie on Top.

In the early days, Matt Sebek, Leigh-Anne Riebold, and Katie Cook were instrumental in helping me overcome many obstacles. They provided professional assistance and support, and answered what they probably considered naive and rudimentary questions. However, they were always polite, and without them, I would not be here today.

Later, Tim and Ryan Pickett got involved with the site, and both of them were invaluable as my duties progressed into actually posting and publishing my own articles each week. They were both unselfish in providing their time and attention to someone who needed a lot of both.

There is no way that any business survives without someone capable of presenting the values of the business to prospective advertisers and customers. Timothy J. McKernan, Joe Pelusi and Michael Hurst were all extremely involved with marketing my column. I appreciate their efforts, and I am sure it was not an easy thing for them to sell the stuff I wrote each week.

Recently, I was provided with my own forum on the site, and I wanna thank Matt Graves for helping me deal with the added and often undesirable duties involved with moderating the message board, and for exhibiting the proper disposition necessary to perform the requisite duties.

Justin Boyd and Anna-Marie Benassi represent the new regime of technical and creative support at InsideSTL, and both have been very attentive and responsive to my needs as a writer.
 
I wanna recognize the two ladies who will continue to write for the site, Ashley and Liv. If you have not given them a chance, please do. They are both bright, intelligent, and funny people, and I am inspired by both of them every time I sit down to write.

I guess that just leaves the advertisers for me to acknowledge. I am amazed that any company saw my column as one they wanted to support. I know Maggie on Top was usually the most 'clicked and read' column on this site, but I recognize that I am an acquired taste, and my content is not ideal for associating with a business. I appreciate your unbiased and non-judgmental support of a product which was often controversial.

Thank you all very much for your support, time, sponsorship, and efforts. You all have my eternal and sincere gratitude.

In closing, thank you all for making me feel very special each week. Your comments and e-mails meant so much to me, and it is difficult to explain the feeling I get when I am able to connect with a reader via my words...it is truly awesome.

I hope I did all that was expected of me at InsideSTL.

I know I did all I could do, and like the proverbial Little Drummer Boy, I gave the only gift I had to give.

Obviously, this will be the final installment of Maggie on Top. I truly appreciate the opportunity, which was afforded me here, and again, I appreciate the support I received from everyone at InsideSTL and from so many of my readers.
I will miss writing this column each week.
 
I will miss the comments that each of you took the time to leave for me.
 
And, I will miss the feeling I get when I click this site on Wednesday morning and see my words on the screen.

When I began to write Maggie on Top, over two years ago, Tim McKernan promised me that I had no idea what I was about to experience. He turned out to be quite the prophet. It was overwhelming at times; however, I would not have traded it for anything in the world.

It was a wild, enjoyable ride, and an experience like no other I have ever had.

Thank you all for all you have done for me.
 
I will leave you with my e-mail address (maggirl2k2@hotmail.com). If you have something to say or ask, drop me a line, and I will respond as I am able...prolly.

Maggie