E D I T O R ’ S N O T E
AMERICANWAY
MAY 15 2007
14
PHOTOGRAPHBYLEEBLANKENSHIPEMMERT
have “deleted” over the years,
and I persuaded their spirits to
infect my computer so that this
file (andonly thisfile)wouldnot
open. Sadly, the said IT person
was able tofix it. Sohere I am.
As it makes me feel better to
have an excuse, this time I’m
chalkingmy procrastination up
to it being the endofwinter.
Hockey and basketball sea-
sonshave justcome toaclose, so
it’s time to turn our attention to
America’sfavoritepastime. (And
believe it or not, that favorite
pastime is
not
happyhour!)
To kick off baseball season,
you can read an interviewwith
the league’s oldest pitcher, Curt
Schilling, on page 74. After
reading that article,my cowork-
ers and I headed to the ballpark
for our second annual dollar-
hot-dog night (our favorite
baseball outing). I was able to
scarf down three hot dogs and
some garlic fries for the cause.
Those were perfect distractions
from the taskat hand.
But baseball is just one of the
many harbingers of spring for
me. So when I’m sitting at my
desk not writing my editor’s
note, I’malsogenerallynotday-
dreamingabout baseball.
I’m usually thinking about
escapingmy office and heading
out for a run in the crisp, cool
air, or about grabbing my in-
line skates and zooming off. Or
about doing what Ken McAl-
pine did for our story on page
78: taking off in a kayak to ex-
plore some of Florida’s most
beautifulwaterways. The time I
spendoutdoors iswhen Idomy
best thinking — at least that’s
what I tell myself. So, techni-
cally, it can still be calledwork,
right?
Reading and answering my
e-mail is another way I distract
myself from my to-do list. I
know, I know — I’ve said I’m
not asaddicted tomyBlackBer-
ryas Ioncewas, and that
is
true
(no matter what some of you
naysayers say). Butwhen I’m in
my office trying to avoid writ-
ing, I will check my e-mail the
nanosecond the little red blink-
ing light alertsme to newmes-
sages. Sometimes I even find
myself willing the red light to
appear — even though I know
that it’s just as likely tobe some
angryorwork-producinge-mail
as it is to be a shout-out from a
friend.
Maybe it’s not therapy I need
(for this particular problem,
anyway) but a class in time
management. My day, like so
many other people’s, is filled
with interruptions. I’m proba-
bly one of the few people, how-
ever, who enjoy the interrup-
tions— to a point. I mean, if I
can blame them for not allow-
ingme to get my column in on
time,what’snot to love?
Unfortunately, it’sbeenpretty
quiet around here for the past
coupleof hours, so there’snoth-
ing todistractme. I think I’ll go
for a run … to think about my
next column. Enjoy the issue,
andyourday!
Do you have things on your to-do list that, nomatter how
important they are, take a backseat to everything else?Or is
it justme?As I’vementioned before, writing this column is
something Iput off until the very lastminute
every single is-
sue
. I don’t knowwhy. I think that only extensive (or inten-
sive?)therapywouldhelpmefigurethatout.Thistime, Ieven
channeledtheghostsofall theusersthatITpeople(readWes)
SpringFever
Sherri Gulczynski Burns
Editor
