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The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
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Daddy Duty is written by Richard Harris, publisher of The Tri-County Journal & Chattahoochee Chronicle.
What if the Hokey Pokey is Really
What It's All About?
What It's All About?
The Hokey Pokey -- a silly child's song or the secret to the universe? That may sound like a stupid question, but lately I've been pondering a line from a song written by one of the great philosophers of our time -- Jimmy Buffett.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is really what it's all about?"
Last Tuesday as I sat in front of the computer banging out another issue of the newspaper that encompasses so much of my life, my 15-month-old son was in the office because he was too sick to go to the sitter. He kept reaching up and pushing my keyboard tray back underneath my desk. Each time I scolded him and told him how important is was that I keep working. Each time, he pushed it right back under the desk and pointed to something that he believed was even more important ... like the ball he had brought me to throw ... or the stuffed bunny he wanted me to hug ... or the sippy cup full of juice that he wanted me to sample with him.
Finally, he stopped pestering me and seemed to realize that my work was much more important than paying attention to him. At least that's what I thought until I realized that the reason he was being so quiet was that he was tossing the notes for the next story I was going to write into the trash. Now, I'm not going to try and convince you that he knew what those notes were for, but needless to say he figured out a way to get my undivided attention.
So, with a deadline bearing down on me, I left the keyboard under the desk -- replacing thoughts of City Council meetings, elections, local school enrollment trends, and volunteer groups, with warm fuzzy bunnies, water bomb balls, and matchbox cars.
To my surprise, not only did the world not stop revolving, but the next day the newspaper was somehow printed and distributed just like always (of course I worked most of the night, but I survived just fine).
While at the press, I was telling Ed Judd about the previous day. I spoke of the difficulties associated with putting a paper together while wiping snot off a little face and playing ball. I was expecting him to respond with pity, but he just laughed, slapped me on the back and said "that's what life is all about."
Over that last seven years, in addition to printing our newspaper, Mr. Judd has given me valuable insight into being a small business owner. Judd Publishing is now a very successful business, but it began much like the little family-run newspaper you now hold in your hands -- with a little dream, a little uncertainty, and a gut-full of determination. So, like the people in the old E.F. Hutton commercials, when Mr. Judd talks, I listen.
However, this time he didn't talk about business. Instead, he asked questions about my wife and son, and spoke of his kids and grandchildren. "That's what it's all about," was the subtle but clear message.
He also asked what I'd been doing away from work lately. Knowing that I was once a fairly avid tennis player, as he looked at my blank face he asked another question, "When's the last time you played tennis?"
When I couldn't come up with an answer, he told me that the office and work and deadlines would always be there, but you have to make time for family and fun.
As I drove back to the office, I popped in a Jimmy Buffett CD that my cousin and friend Mitchell Harris had recently burned for me. Buffett has always been one of my favorite performers, but I hadn't heard any of the singer's new stuff. So, I started skipping songs and trying to find a tune that would catch my ear. ... The first song I stopped on? You guessed it, "What If The Hokey Pokey Is Really What It's All About?"
What if it is? Think about it.
