My First Assignment

     Howard Ray, the owner of the CrowMac Creek Crier, called me into his office and told me to take a chair. Perplexed, I took a seat as he rattled through a stack of paperwork. As he did, I noticed that he towered over me. I felt as if someone had cut the legs off my chair, and realized that someone had. I scooted my chair closer to the desk and Howard scowled as if I had broken a cardinal rule. His gaze became more relaxed and I thought I saw the remnants of a smile that had all but dissolved.

    “What’s up boss?

    “First, I made a changed the name of the paper yesterday”

      A bit perplexed, I thought it best to stay silent. Howard had purchased the paper in 1999, and the last owner had begun publishing the CrowMac Creek Crier, an advertizing rag, in 1968. It had been a free publication, totally funded by advertising sales, and his wife’s father. And it  hadn’t grown much since then. Howard had told me that we would begin publishing online, which was one of the reasons I took the position. Well, that and I needed the cash.

     “So, what’s the new name?”

     “The CrowMac Creek Chronicle!” 

     Howard looked pleased, and I thought it sounded a bit more newspapish, even if the name was still a tongue twister.

     “Okay, Steven.” Howard looked at me as if he was measuring my level of excitement, a demeanor my genes had only sparingly provided me.

     “You will fly to Kansas, and travel to Osawatomie.”

     I jumped to my feet. “Osawatomie? What for? What is in Osawatomie? It’s the dead of a very cold winter, and, as far as I know, there are no festivals or entertainment.

     “Close the door, and sit down. First of all, You will do what I ask of you as long as you work here. If you don’t understand, read your contract.”

                                                                                                                      ...To be continued.