two days ago i called a reporter to follow up on a story he was supposed to write like four months ago about an event we flew him to. nothing had ever run and my client kept asking me about it. i felt like i had already nagged this guy multiple times but still hadn't found anything, which was weird because literally it should have been printed in february. so i sent a last ditch email attempt to see if i could get some info out of him.
turns out that in february, shortly after the event, this guy's wife suffered congestive heart failure and had to be rushed to the hospital to have a defibrillator/pacemaker installed. then it turned out that the pacemaker was defective so she had to go back to have it worked on. they still don't know if she's going to make it through all of this.
some things are definitely more important than work. i felt sheepish for even sending him that email when obviously he had so much more going on. but do you know what he told me? "i'm really sorry about the delay. i've been on personal leave from work but i'm trying really hard to finish my projects and your story is at the top of the list." work doesn't matter as much as some people think. REAL LIFE is what matters. i definitely think people get that a little backward.
4 comments:
I completely agree.
Crazy/touching story.
Oh my gosh! I haven't had that happen quite to that extent, but I remember frantically trying to get in touch with one of our vendors about printing materials for a trade show, and he'd been with his wife who was having a baby. I felt like such an idiot...gotta love those moments of perspective!
PS - I'm going home in 10 days and possibly to a Dodger's game! :) How are you guys doing? I'd love to see you but knowing the insane schedule of my weekend (best friend's wedding and little bro's farewell) it probably won't happen. Sad!
have to agree with you! Poor guy, what a drama!!
Wow, that does put life into perspective.
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