Random Skeevy Writing Contest vs NPR

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I decided to make a brave second attempt at submitting something of mine to a literary contest.  The first literary contest I'd ever entered was most likely a scam.

I had to send them my piece and then twenty dollars and then last year's winner would choose this year's and then I didn't hear back for several months after the deadline and the typeface on the rejection postcard was crooked, and by then it didn't matter anyway because the crying was already done—Oh writers!  We do get into our 'I NEEDZ PURBLISHED!' shennanigans now and then, don't we?  That stupid scam became the bad ex-boyfriend throttling my future shy attempts at contest-writing.