February 6, 2008
I don’t miss staying up until 3 a.m. to write four articles for three newspapers the ngiht before deadline. I don’t miss being shut out of executive session for half-hours at a time when I have a final the next morning. I don’t miss taking a final, going to cover a story, filing, and going back to school to take another final. I don’t miss having an unfinished paper at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night.
But I miss the campaigns. Last night as we sat in front of CNN I said, “I wish I was somewhere more exciting. Like…a campaign office.” When I covered a little bit of election stuff in ‘02 I don’t think I really got it. I was what, 16? I still shot film then. But fall of ‘06 is the memory that makes me miss writing and editing and taking thirty photos to only use one. It poured on election night, and I remember running through the rain to get to the hotel, only to sit on the floor for three or four hours with damp hair and no news. I wasn’t even on duty that night, but I had the chills sitting there among people who were sprawled out in front of televisions and who jumped up every time another 1% of the polls were reporting.
Those nights are the only nights I miss.
