IT'S IN THE BOOK!

   WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13TH.
          IT'S IN THE BOOK!

     There's a long row of books
stacked atop a shelf in my bedroom.
They're seldom opened and if they
were, by anyone but me, it's likely
the reader would think he or she
had come across a form of'
hieroglyphics!
      They are actually log books
in which I have listed every story
I ever did on WDAU/WYOU from
September of 1980 to April of 2009.
That period covers my full time days
at channel 22. I never kept records
when I worked there part time.
      As you might expect, there are
thousands of stories. Yesterday I
was asked to try to find one.
      Here's the thing. These notes
were pre-computer. So you can't
open a book, look for a "key word"
and find every story that fits.
      If I have a general idea of the
date I've got a fighting chance of
finding a particular story. Yesterday's
search found me reading every page
from 1993 till March of 1995 when
I came across the story I was looking
for.
     Even if I'm lucky enough to have
a general date I can't always find a
specific subject. You see I simply
listed each story with a short sentence.
That's not always descriptive enough
to find what I'm looking for. It might,
for instance, note "Fire in Saint Clair."
But that won't help recall a specific
fire unless my memory fills in the
rest.
     An even bigger problem is my
own handwriting. Check out any
stories listed in January, when the
notebook was new and my intentions
were good, and you'll find clear
notations. A month or two later,
especially on a busy day, I'm lucky
to tell the difference between an "a"
and an "o" if I can make out any of
them at all. It looks like some crazy
person wrote some of this stuff.
Of course he (make that I) did!
      Still, there's a lot of regional
history in those books. Probably
enough to fill a novel! It's in the
book. Or, in this case, books! If
only I could read it all.
      Hope all your NEWS is good
 (and legible!)