It snowed today. A lot. No April Fools. Just a whole bunch of heavy, wet snow.
I contemplated not going into the newspaper, but I was pretty sure that if I drove slowly enough I’d be fine. The first half of the drive it was clear sailing – no problem. The second half was kind of dicey. I was starting to second-guess my decision when I saw a pick-up truck in the valley between the northbound and southbound lanes. There was a cop and an ambulance, but the driver was out and walking around and all of the emergency vehicle lights were off. Definitely sucky for the driver, but all seemed to be fine.
Until I got into the newsroom. Turns out the pick-up truck had actually rolled over a couple of times before landing on its wheels in the median. Which caused no end of frustration in the newsroom. If a roll-over vehicle lands on its wheels, no picture! If a roll-over vehicle lands on its roof, great picture!
I’ve had an inkling that the news business may not be a good lifelong pursuit for me, for exactly this reason. They want blood and guts. They want victims and drama.
This is the picture the editor wanted. Unfortunately for him, this is a photo I grabbed off a stock photo site.
I want to help people find peace and serenity. Doesn’t make for a front-page photo opportunity.
Which isn’t to say that I hate my time there – not at all. It’s actually a lot of fun. The people are great and I enjoy what I do. Today I got to write a story about a local 13-year-old whose writing is being published in a collection of short stories to raise funds for relief efforts in Japan. How cool is that?!? Published internationally, and probably (hopefully?) before she’s even had her first date. This girl has already completed three full-length novels. I’m inspired by her focus and tenacity.
Long term newspaper ambitions? No. Short term enjoyment out of an editor’s consternation that there weren’t wheels spinning in the air? Definitely!
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