Nearly 50 years - a column that has always accompanied the newspaper

The "Recalling Rhymes" column frequently appears in the Hai Duong Newspaper's daily news from Monday to Friday.

One afternoon, when everything was settled, I leisurely walked out into the hallway and met the Editor-in-Chief. I immediately struck up a conversation: "I'm thinking of writing a critical folk song piece, similar to the 'Big Stories, Small Stories' column often signed 'The Blacksmith' in the Nhan Dan newspaper. Is that possible, sir?" The Editor-in-Chief, a passionate and meticulous man, happily told me: "Yes, if you can do it, that's great. Go ahead and give it a try."

Because I liked this section, I had already jotted down a few articles beforehand and immediately read the first one to him. It was an article titled "Eight Hours of Precious Time," criticizing formal, ineffective, and time-wasting work habits. The opening lines were: "He arrives at the office on time / Tea and cigarettes, discussing personal matters / At eight o'clock, he glances around / Briefly checks the newspaper to see what articles are on it / At nine o'clock, he swaggers off ..." After listening to the whole article, he happily told me, "That's good!" Then he asked for the name of the section...

I thought for a moment: "How about we call this column 'Rhyming Reminders'? It's lighthearted and won't be confused with other newspapers." After I explained, he immediately agreed and gave me the task. He instructed me to proactively nurture this column and build a team of contributors!

Unexpectedly, the first article was published, and the very next day, I received feedback. It was during a break, and I was on the third floor with some colleagues from the Science and Education Department. One of them said to me, "Your newspaper published an article by some priest who's badmouthing us. How awful!" Then he laughed, a laugh that was both joyful and guilty. I heard it, my heart swelled with joy, but I didn't dare reveal that I was the author.

And so, issue after issue, year after year, the "Recalling Rhymes" column continued to exist. It attracted more and more contributors, and the content covered became increasingly broad and diverse, encompassing the negative aspects of everyday life. The column's language always maintained its humorous, witty, and insightful quality, contributing to the fight against vices and bad habits...

Now, the "Rhyming Reminders" column is almost 50 years old, dating back to the first article I wrote in 1976 or 1977. Throughout that long journey, I don't know how many contributors have written for the column. The column's name has changed a couple of times, but it has always returned to "Rhyming Reminders." It has become a unique feature of the newspaper, a beloved "specialty" among many readers.

HA KHANH NGUYEN

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/gan-50-nam-mot-chuyen-muc-luon-dong-hanh-cung-to-bao-414062.html