Moving on to the adventure that lies ahead

I remember when we first got caller ID about 13 years ago. Mostly I loved it!

But sometimes?

Not so much.

In those days our boys had three paper routes, and if one of them messed up on the delivery front, you better believe we heard about it.

Apparently some people just don't appreciate it when you run late or deliver their paper to the wrong address or accidentally throw their paper onto the garage roof.

Apparently some people expect to get what they pay for.

SERIOUSLY!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE?

But whatever.

The point is that certain names made me nervous whenever they popped up on the caller ID.

And nervous is how I REALLY felt when the words NEWSPAPER AGENCY CORP showed up one afternoon.

I stood there in the kitchen and listened to the phone ring while having an intense little conversation with myself.

Should I pick the phone up?

Or should I just pack my bags and hop on the next train out of Dodge?

In the end I manned up (even though I am not a man) and said a testy "hello."

The caller identified herself as Lisa Bowen, John Hughes' secretary.

John Hughes, as you'll recall, was the editor of the Deseret News, and he wanted to speak to me.

Would that be OK, Lisa wanted to know.

I said of course! Great! But inside I was all REALLY? My kid threw some dude's paper onto the garage roof and THE HEAD EDITOR is calling to chew us out?

Shouldn't head editors be busy editing instead of calling with complaints about the occasional careless product placement?

Only as it turned out that's not why Mr. Hughes was calling.

No, indeed.

Instead, he graciously asked if I'd be willing to write a column for the Deseret News similar to the column I'd written for 10 years at the old Parent Express magazine.

Well!