At 10:30 on a freezing Thanksgiving night, I shivered with my two sons on Interstate 55 just south of the Osyka exit as a Kentwood, La., tow truck loaded up my daughter’s broken-down car.
It would have been acceptable to curse my bad luck, curse the bad weather, curse the car for shutting down on its way back from a day with family in New Orleans.
As it happened, the time for me to let loose with curses was two nights before, when late-night printing problems kept about 20 people at work until 4 a.m. or later.
What better time to aggravate a couple of our printing customers than on the biggest advertising week of the year?
Tuesday was a horrible night. It turned an already-busy week into a nightmare. At least 10 employees in the mailroom worked extra-long hours, handling four large assignments and staying at least four hours past when everyone thought we would be finished.
Getting ready to return to the office Wednesday morning, I distinctly remember a panicked moment, fearing that we would not have enough people to finish a partially completed mailroom job from Tuesday night, much less get all the circulars into the Enterprise-Journal’s big Thanksgiving Day paper.
It’s easy to find people who poor-mouth today’s work force. I do it myself sometimes; like any business, we’ve had our share of problems.
So imagine my surprise, and gratitude, when most of the mailroom people who were supposed to be at work by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday got there on time. Everyone was at work by 11, which was fine with me given the ridiculously late finish of the prior night.
The mailroom stalwarts included Randy Reed, Sandie Hubner, Patsy Morris, LeToya Lampton, Jessica Pittman, Shay Krepps, Annie Wells, Lena Harness, Alice Strowder and Jennifer Jones. They and several others got the job done and I am very grateful.
On Wednesday, as most of the mailroom people worked to finish the Tuesday night job, there also was that day’s Enterprise-Journal to worry about. This is where a number of other people came through.
At one point around 12 noon, Vicky Deere, Erin McKenzie, Konya Munson, Katelyn Teasley, Margie Williams, Melissa Storey and Bradley Crain were in different areas of the building, putting two circulars into each copy of the paper.
I’m grateful beyond words for their help, and I know that more employees would have pitched in if needed.
After all those problems on Tuesday night and midday Wednesday, it was a bit of a surprise that the Thursday Enterprise-Journal came together smoothly. We always print the Thanksgiving Day paper on Wednesday evening, and inserting the circulars was finished by 9 p.m.
Maybe that was a sign that things would get better for me. For a while, they did.
Mary Ann and I took her car to New Orleans, while Thomas and Audrey rode in Audrey’s car. We picked up John at the airport and headed to a cousin’s house.
At 9:15 p.m., Mary Ann and I were almost home when her cell phone rang. It was John. They were a few miles behind us on I-55, and Audrey’s car had stalled just south of the state line.
I thought he was kidding, but we turned around and went to get them while Audrey called “Triple-A,” the American Automobile Association, for a tow.
The tow truck from Kentwood arrived at 10:15. Mary Ann and Audrey had left for the welcome center restroom. John, Thomas and I stood outside in 32-degree weather as the driver loaded Audrey’s car.
For fun, I had John video it with his phone. We also checked the score of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game.
I was freezing and tired, but somehow not upset or aggravated. This too shall pass. It was great to have all three kids at home. After my Tuesday and Wednesday, this was easy.
Luckily, we traveled in two cars, and I’d rather have Audrey’s car break down near Pike County than halfway to Oxford on her way back to school.
We followed the tow truck to Howell Motors, and Audrey said the driver looked like one of her regulars at PJ’s Coffee, where she used to work. It was him, and they had a nice visit.
I’m still a Grinch when it comes to holidays. They just create too many problems and too much work. Thanksgiving 2013 was no exception, but it did make a fine story.
