You're on deadline ... and an emergency strikes

If Boots says he's got your back, remember, it's only love.

 

I understand that, but that doesn't mean we should treat it any differently than writing for any other part of the paper. It is work and we should approach it professionally.

I'll give an example within sports. I have covered everything from pros on down to little league. Obviously, the pro assignment is more important. But I have never approached them differently. Ok, maybe I dress differently for an NFL press box than a little league game, but when it comes to the work, I take both seriously. And if a family emergency were to come up, I would be just as likely to bail on a pro game as anything else.

 

Great point - I'm with you.

 

In May, I was working a Saturday night shift on the desk. I was about 10 to 15 minutes away from sending the last page (11:30 p.m.) when I get a phone call from my wife. She starts off by saying everyone is okay, but the house is on fire! I live about 30 minutes away from work, so she said not to rush home because the fire department had already been there to put out the fire. My head was spinning, and I couldn't think straight. But I actually stayed at work for about 20 minutes to put the paper out and then left and had somebody else take care of my web responsibilities. I find out later that my wife waited to call me until 45 minutes after the firemen left because she knew I was on deadline. I guess she realized there was nothing I could do because I was 30 minutes away. The fire could've been a lot worse. There was significant smoke damage to the house, but the fire damage was limited to the kitchen and side of the house. No one was hurt, and we didn't lose anything we couldn't replace.

 

I've been in Jason's shoes before -- not with the fire, thankfully; but with the "don't call him; he's on deadline and there's nothing he can do anyway" situation.

It helps to have people (family, whatever) who understand your job, so they can help make that determination of whether something is a certified "crisis" or not.

Had an ex one time who just didn't get it, and she'd call me for every little thing ... then get pissed when I couldn't talk longer. On deadline. :

Jason's family handled that fire well, considering the circumstances. If you're needed, then call you ASAP so you can rush home. But if everything's already under control, then it doesn't make sense to make you freak out all over again. Glad the fire wasn't, well, too bad, Jason.

 

It's never happened, but what if you're the only sports guy, putting together the last page, for instance, and crisis comes up?

 

This happened just last week with Gerald Ford.

News had already gone home.

 

The only time I've had a family emergency come up while at work was the summer of 2004 when my mom suffered a bacterial infection in her heart. I got a call from my aunt around nine that night saying I needed to get to the hospital. I asked her why, but she wouldn't tell me. I told my boss I had to go, that my mom was in the hospital, and he said it was OK and to let him know if everything was OK.

Luckily the hospital is just a short drive down the road from where I work and I got there about 10 minutes after my aunt called. And luckily for my mom, she was working at the hospital when all that happened.

 

A friend got word that her mother died just near deadline several years ago. We told her to leave and jumped in and finished the section. Seeing her run out of that office is one of the toughest things I've ever seen in the business.

 

yes, yes, yes. jesus christ, we get it. outofplace, you are a good person and what you do is important.

was there really ever a "toy store" reference that had to be made during this thread? the question: family or work? ... even if it's not a beheading?

don't have many kids, do ya?

 

Ah, Tom...chiming in with your usual level of charm. None.

Yes, there was a toy store reference and there were comments that what we do is not important. I agree that you put family emergencies first. My point was that I would do the same thing no matter regardless of the perceived importance of my career.

And I do have a child, a 3-year-old daughter. And if there was a real emergency involving her, I wouldn't care if it was the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, I'd drop what I was doing without hesitation.

 

Thanks for the congratulations. I would post a photo, but I'm not sure how. He is the cutest baby ever; but I might be biased! ;D