Yesterday, I got one of those phone calls that I just hate - and the kind I deal with all too often.
When I listened to the voice-mail and heard the man's name, I had an inkling of what was coming.
I recognized the last name. His daughter was in trouble.
I dialed back and talked to him. He was pretty straight forward.
"I want to know if you can do me a favor," he said. He then recounted his daughter's story. Eventually, he got around to what I knew was coming.
"Can you keep this out of the paper," he asked.
My answer was short and no doubt to him less than sweet.
No.
I got the feeling he knew it was coming. He didn't argue with me. He seemed resigned to the fact that this story was going to be in the paper.
My guess is this morning he's not real happy with me.
I have said many times there are two kinds of people who call the newspaper - people who want to get something into the paper and people who want desperately to be sure something does not get into the paper.
In this instance, he was asking for something I could not do.
I get the feeling he understands. I'm sure it does not make it any easier for him and his family.
For what it's worth, it's not all that great on this end either.
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