I write headlines for a living.
It's the way I'm wired. I hear a story and immediately the tumblers start clicking in my head. I've spent years breaking down the most complex stories imaginable into four words or less. Sometimes it's only one word.
One of the best headlines I've ever written was not even a word, it was a play off an acronym. When Pennsylvania executed the first inmate in decades a few years back, this is the headline that appeared on the front page of the Daily Times the next day:
R.I.Pa.
So when I heard Mayor Nutter drop an expletive yesterday in describing some of the reporting that he blamed for scaring people away from the city during the momentous World Meeting of Families and the historic visit by Pope Francis, my mind immediately started thinking of a headline.
Nutter was looking to put a different spin on what some were interpreting at numbers that didn't match the hype and businesses complaining of a lack of customers.
"I think that in some instances you people scared the s--- out of people," Nutter told the assembled ink-stained wretches yesterday at the perfunctory day-after press conference.
The headline came to me immediately. The mayor drops the S-word at a post-papal press conference. This one's too easy:
Holy S#%&!
So much for the "family-friendly" review of the World Meeting of Families week.
I don't agree with what Mayor Nutter said. It was the mayor and other officials who for weeks warned people of long walks, traffic boxes, security perimeters and all other kinds of warnings. It was only when a backlash started that city officials and World Meeting of Families execs tried to put a softer, friendlier face on the event. They dropped all references to the security zone and traffic box and started referring to the Francis Festival Grounds.
I'm going to give Mayor Nutter the benefit of the doubt. He even revisited what he apologetically referred to as his "intemperate" remark and admitted he was expecting a note of admonishment from his mother.
Maybe Nutter was channeling his inner Mike Schmidt. The Phillies icon and all-time home run king was fond of describing playing in Philadelphia as "the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day."
Mayor Nutter and World Meeting of Families officials deserve credit for a fantastic week. No one seems to be exactly sure how many people packed the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on Sunday. Does it really matter? The event, and the entire week, put the city on an international stage. And it's fair to say the place was radiant.
Yes, there were issues with what some refer to as "overkill" in terms of preparation and road closures. Long lines snarled thousands trying to get through security checkpoints on Sunday. Some businesses report that instead of a bonanza they took a bath because of all the street closures.
We prefer to look at the positive. The city is likely to bask in the spotlight of a massive, incident-free extravaganza for years.
Even Pope Francis noted that all families have their issues.
So did this one.
Or, as Mayor Nutter might say, spit happens.
Comments