EDITOR@WORK: Get 'er done...

Friday, October 30, 2009

Get 'er done...

It's not always easy: I've gone through a lot over the years to get stories out. I once sat between two smelly gas pumps to write a story; I needed the light. Later that night, I drove to an empty shopping center and used a pay phone while some guy sat with his car lights on me, waiting to use the phone. That was a lonely feeling.

Another time, the Whiteville basketball game ended four minutes after my deadline. I called the paper and dictated the main part of the story. I hung up, talked to the coaches, called the paper back and dictated the quotes for the proper spots. It ticked off the people at the office -- they wanted me to write on the computer and send it in -- and I missed my copy deadline, but we got the paper off the floor on time. They got over it.

I once wrote a story on a yellow pad while the movie "Rudy" flickered on a bus's monitor screen; it was the only source of light. I called the newspaper and dictated my story. Years before that, I was run over on the sideline of a Clemson-North Carolina football game — the famed William "Refrigerator" Perry was one of the culprits. Another time, I covered a minor-league soccer match as rain poured and lightning flashed just off the coast of Charleston, S.C. The Battery won 2-0 in an electrically-charged game.

It's always something.

Disappointment: I was so excited recently when I got an email saying that this company would like me to apply for an opening as a copy editor. I did so and learned, to my chagrin, that they're instead looking for people looking to further their career. As a "copy editor," I might be trying to sign people to college positions. I hate liars or scam artists.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE