Deadlines

One of the reasons I like the publishing world is there is an end.  Deadlines make things real.  Today is the day it is due.  No ifs, ands or buts.  Today is the day.  It's a simple concept, really.  If a story is due for the newspaper that publishes tomorrow, today is the day you must turn it in or it won't be in the paper.  Likewise, if a page must be finished before it can be printed, that means all the words, pictures, headlines, captions, text, art, etc. must be there, or it won't be ready to print.  Simple.  Not rocket science.

Explain that to a high school student journalist. Worse:  Explain that to their parents.  "URGENT EMAIL:  I forgot to submit my senior ad in November.  I know it is February, but can you make room for my late tribute to my child."  That would be a no.  "HI, AGAIN.  I know that underclass pictures were taken in Sept. and Oct., but can you put my cherub's picture in the yearbook?"   People pages locked up in December.  "IT'S FEBRUARY, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!!! What part of NOOOOOOO don't you understand?"

I hate them, the "deadline extension mongers."  Not just an extension, but an abuse of dignity.  How dare they.  They will be the first ones to complain when a paper or a yearbook doesn't come out "on time" but yet they are the ones who want to drag it out, try to squeeze in their special something.  I hate them.  And they are rude about it.  "I WANT TO KNOW WHEN THE DEADLINE WAS AND WHEN YOU DECIDED THAT MY CHILD WOULD BE LEFT BEHIND!!!"

Hello, mom.  Hello, dad.  You're child got left behind when you didn't turn in the freaking paperwork on time.  Or you let your child miss school that day and he didn't get his ugly mug taken for the yearbook.  Then, your child is so used to you jumping through his ass that he didn't show up to get his picture taken on make-up picture day.  This is why his picture won't be in the yearbook.   You don't get to write me a nasty email and accuse ME of something that YOU failed to do.

I can't wait until I get to tell them this to their face. 

In the meantime, I'll just say "No.  It is too late.  Sorry!"  and then I'll come home and write a 20-minute blog about it.  I hate rude people who can't accept that they have failed at something and don't want to hear "no" as the answer to their request. 

Whatever happened to grace and dignity?  I guess some people would blame it on the Bill Clintons of the world and excuse themselves by saying "I did it because I could."  Well, no, bubba, you can't.  Some of us will be offended and stick by our deadlines.  Even if we could fix this problem for you, we won't - because we can simply say "no."

A deadline is a deadline, and I stand by it.  Because I can.