Ever since she was born, she’s seemed to attract trouble. But that’s worked to Sally Breslin’s advantage as a humor columnist for Neighborhood News Inc. for the past 25 years, starting when the newspaper group was owned by Little Newspapers.

Breslin began writing “My Life” in 1984, and difficult though it may be to believe, all the things she writes about are true.

She remembers details from her childhood because of the diary she has kept since fifth grade.

“It’s like having a time machine at my fingertips,” said Breslin. “I mean, I can tell you what I ate for breakfast way back on Dec. 1, 1961 (Sugar Pops cereal with sliced banana).” The diary is even being turned into a book."

“Not long ago, I was reading my 1962 diary and laughed so hard at the things I’d written back then. I’m currently turning the diary into a book called, ‘There’s a Tick in my Underwear.’ It’s about the summer vacation my family and I, along with my friend Janet, spent in a little two-room cabin in Chester, N.H. There was no plumbing, no electricity and an old wooden outhouse with a snake living in it. It definitely was a summer I’ll never forget!”

Breslin has written news stories for the paper as well and remembered one in particular.

“The one that immediately comes to mind is the forest fire off Buck Street back when I first started working as a news correspondent. “I really wanted to impress my editor with some good closeup photos of the fire, so without even thinking twice about the danger, I went wandering through the woods until I ended up right at the heart of the fire. I snapped what I thought were some Pulitzer-Prize-worthy photos, then turned around to head back.

“That’s when I discovered that I was surrounded by a circle of flames. Not knowing what else to do, I stood there and shouted for help, all the while imagining myself being turned into a giant shish kebob.

“Suddenly, like a scene straight out of some romance novel, a really handsome, blond firefighter with a water tank strapped to his back appeared through the smoke and flames. “He said, ‘Hurry! Follow me!’ and then took me by the arm and led me out of the fire.

“When we finally emerged on a dirt road where most of the fire trucks were parked, I noticed that my sandals had fallen off somewhere in the woods and I was standing there barefooted. “Seeing that the area was so rocky, the Pembroke fire chief let me borrow his boots so I could walk back to my car. I “clomped” all the way back, with my head hanging in embarrassment.

“For a long time after that, I had to endure the nickname ‘The Barefoot Contessa.’ And for years afterwards, every time I ran into Alan Topliff, the firefighter who’d rescued me, he’d flash a big smile at me and ask, ‘Get caught in any fires lately?’” Writing hasn’t been Breslin’s only job.

“I’ve worked as a dental assistant, contact-lens technician, a switchboard operator for the Air Force Satellite Tracking Station in New Boston, a teacher’s aide in the Bedford school system, the manager of a gift shop, a mystery shopper, a motivational counselor at a national weightloss center and a humor-writing instructor for Concord Community Education, to name just a few” she said. “But my heart has, and always will be, in writing.”

You might think Sally is not that savvy about computers if you are a regular reader. But she does have a degree in computer programming.

“The computers I learned to program were the IBM 1401 and the IBM 360,” she said. “Just about the time I graduated, they became obsolete. I’ve never taken any writing courses – but I probably should have!”

Breslin’s fans will have more of “My Life” to enjoy in the future.

“I think one of the best feelings on earth is when people who read my columns come up to me or write to tell me that I’ve made them laugh,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for a better reward.”