Picking out the positive

When I was young, I was an optimist.

I read and wrote poetry, smiled easily and tried very hard to see the good in everything.

I am no longer young, and during the time that has passed, a combination of life events and career choices have infused the soul of this would-be poet with a not-so-healthy amount of cynicism.

While this change in personality probably made me a better journalist, it hasn’t done much for my blood pressure.

Randy Capps

For example, I woke up a few weeks ago on deadline day and decided to work from home. I put Wimbledon on the TV and started tracking down events on

Facebook for the community calendar. Little did I know, trouble was coming.

Facebook and my calendar software stopped playing nicely early Friday morning, and by the middle of the afternoon, the event which was to serve as our cover story was postponed.

By that time, I had given up on working from home and was sitting in the office — alone and with the lights turned off.

I was not having a great day, but anytime that happens, I remember one of my lovely wife’s favorite sayings.

“The worst day at Johnston Now is better than the best day working for a corporate newspaper.”

It’s absolutely true. I came to work because I wanted to. I wore shorts and flipflops, turned the thermostat down to meat locker mode and blared Wimbledon Radio on my phone.

It’s the sort of freedom I craved, but rarely received, in newsroom environments — and it’s mine everyday. And at the end of it all, we still got the magazine out on time.

I may still be a cynic, but even I can look on the bright side.