After Twenty Years I Almost Miss A Deadline

        I’ve been writing a Religion Column for the Dispatch for almost 20 years (It may be 20 years now—I’m not sure when I actually started). 

        Lee Jessup was the religion writer prior to me and he wrote a column every week.  When Lee left, Chad Killebrew asked me if I would be interested in writing the column.  He told me the paper wanted to change it from one writer each week, to four different writers.  That way, I would only write a column every four weeks.  I agreed and have always enjoyed the opportunity.

        The column runs in Saturday’s paper.  The deadline for submitting the column is Thursday morning.  I immediately set my own deadline of Wednesday morning, rather than Thursday, and until this week, had always been able to meet my deadline, sometimes even submitting the column on Monday or Tuesday. 

        In the early days the column would be typed and I would deliver a hard copy to the paper.  I would usually bound up the steps sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday and give Chad, or Vicki, or Jill the copy.  Then as technology improved, we had the option of emailing the column.  I remember the first time I emailed a column.  I didn’t trust the technology so I delivered a hard copy anyway.

        Even now when I email my column, I ask Jill or Chad to confirm they have received it.  If I don’t hear from them I will call.  

        In twenty years I have only missed one column.  When my father died suddenly I had a column due.   I called Chad and asked him to rerun an old column, which I think he did.  With that one exception, I have never missed a deadline---until this week.

        I always write after Randy Hall, so when I see his column I know mine is due the next week.  But somehow I got confused and convinced myself my column was due next week for publication on December 17.  I made a note this week to get my column written next Monday.   

        Around 11:30 Wednesday morning I got an email from Jill.  She said that I always had my columns in by Wednesday morning, even though the technical deadline was 7:30 a.m. Thursday.  She just wanted to make sure everything was all right.  I couldn’t believe it!   I panicked!  We had Charlie Parks’ funeral Wednesday afternoon, then Joyce and I were going shopping, along with Ella Rae, for our two Salvation Army Angels.  At 9:44 Wednesday night I emailed Saturday’s religion column to Jill and Chad with a big thank you to Jill for saving my neck.  After twenty years, I almost missed the deadline for my column.  Mercy, I must be getting old!