I’m going to be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender…
“The Pretender,” Jackson Browne
Well, getting ahold of that legal tender is a bit of a struggle these days, as I can attest (and some of you can as well). And today I can also attest to being a happy idiot.
Happy, even giddy, because of the birth of my new granddaughter yesterday.
But idiot I surely am as well.
Remember how I told y’all the other day that I would be meeting Steve Morrison for breakfast this morning to talk about his candidacy for mayor? Sure you do. You knew I would be meeting with him, I knew I’d be meeting with him, and so did Steve.
And Steve showed up. I did not. And I am embarrassed beyond words (these are inadequate) for that lapse.
The thing is that, after getting up before 5 a.m. yesterday and going strong all day with the happy business of running here and there and holding the new baby every chance I got (and going and holding the Twins for awhile so their mother and big sister could go see the baby, too) by the time I went to bed I was in such a state of pleasant exhaustion that I didn’t look at my calendar for the next morning, and set my alarm for too late. This, despite the fact that I had been perfectly conscious of my meeting with Steve earlier in the day, and having mentioned it to someone. I was looking forward to it.
So imagine my mortification when I got out of the shower and saw the message from Steve, wondering where I was.
Anyway, I’m posting this just to further punish myself by advertising my failing to the world.
I normally don’t screw up like this. In fact, I am more careful than ever not to. Any scintilla of arrogant insouciance I may have had toward the world as the editorial page editor of the state’s largest newspaper is gone completely. No, I wouldn’t have wanted to stand Steve up then, either, and would have been appalled if I had. But then, I at least knew that because of my position, a candidate for public office would need to speak to me at some point. Now, I represent only myself, and I am painfully aware that Steve was doing me a personal courtesy by agreeing to make time for this mere blogger. Steve may or may not be happy with what I eventually write about his candidacy; I’m going to call that as I see it wherever the chips may fall. But he is certainly entitled to having me show up on time and ready when he has been so kind as to set aside time for me.
So I really screwed up there. Anyway, I will endeavor to make it up to Steve by being EARLY if he ever agrees to meet with me again. And I will make it up to y’all, who were expecting to read the fruits of that interview this morning, by imbedding the video that The State posted when Steve announced his candidacy. It will have to do for now…
Hard confused times. I hope the candidate understands. A child is a huge act of courage and faith.
A child is a concatenation of genetic material that happens for a variety of reasons. Some are wonderful,as no doubt this baby’s are, but many are the result of neither courage nor faith. I have been involved with and on the periphery of too many DSS cases to believe that. A large number of children are pure accidents.
I was once scheduled to give a talk and actually drove by the location at the right time, and had a complete brain fart and skipped it. Never did that again.
OUCH!
I’ve been there before…
Perhaps Mr. Morrison has also been subject to simple human fallacy and will understand.
No doubt you will need to redouble your effort to maintain your cred, as the mayoral race looks to be an interesting topic for the future, and I look forward to your commentary/ coverage.
I love Columbia and I wonder what it would be like if there were a few more competent people involved in it’s governance.
Mere blogger that you may be, you have something that I do not: potential access to the candidates beyond that which is offered by the rest of the media around here.
Invaluable.
Don’t beat yourself up too bad.