ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JOEL KLAASSEN
This memory problem I am beginning to have is escalating and starting to bug me a great deal.
Someone gave me a great story idea recently about some young person who has done a remarkable thing. I said I would pass it on to the news department for them to follow up, but now I can’t remember what it was. If you are the person who gave me the tip, please tell me again.
Like the guy said, “I already forgot what I can’t remember.”
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The above is not to mean that everything someone tells me will get in the paper. There is no guarantee that anything you tell me will get in because I do not make the final decision about what is newsworthy.
My partner, Don Ratzlaff, and I have separate and distinct duties here at the Free Press, and I think that is why we get along so well. He is in charge of the news and I am in charge of the rest. That is not to say we don’t consult with each other about all facets of the operation.
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Nancy and I now have to carry a phonebook around in our vehicles these days so we can figure out people’s names. Is that getting old or what?
Last week we managed to come up with the last name, so went to the book to find the first name. We knew the brother’s name but couldn’t think of his sibling’s name.
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In the when-it-rains-it-pours department.
I wrote two weeks ago about our kids in Atlanta who had both of their cars flattened by a tree limb as the result of a hurricane. It was determined finally that their van was totaled, but that the car could be repaired.
Their insurance covered rental cars only partially so they were eager to replace the van and get back to normal. They wanted the exact year and model of the van they had, so they went all the way to Chattanooga to find one.
They bought it and headed home. An hour later, Amy and the boys were rear-ended on the interstate near an accident scene that had caused traffic to slow down. The car behind them didn’t stop.
Fortunately, no one was injured, but now the replacement van is in the shop for extensive repairs.
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It appeared to me that the Hillsboro Arts & Crafts Fair came off without a hitch. Allowing exhibitors to set up on Friday night was one of the best changes ever made, and made Saturday morning a breeze.
We received an email at the Free Press from a woman from Hoisington who thought the fair was “wonderful” and wanted more information about one of the vendors so she could buy more stuff.
I forwarded it on to the the Arts & Crafts women for handling and then suggested that they might try to cut down on the wind a little for next year.
