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Scott LoftisI always intend to get a little work done on the weekend. But sometimes those intentions just don’t pan out.
There’s a lot of news in this week’s paper, and I’m proud of it. But putting all that news together is a lot of work and it can make for a very long Monday if I don’t get a head start over the weekend. Sometimes, though, working 12 hours or more on a Monday is worth it if it means enjoying my weekend and spending time with family and friends and especially my wife, Lisa.
The past couple of weekends have been a whirlwind, starting with a quick road trip to Milwaukee on the last weekend of September to watch the Chicago Cubs play the Brewers in their last series of the season. That trip actually started on Thursday, Sept. 28, when I drove to Little Rock to pick up my old friend — and former boss — Jeff Krupsaw.
“Krup” as his friends call him, was the deputy sports editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for two decades and he’s one of the smartest journalists I’ve ever known. He’s semi-retired now and as hard-core a sports fan as you’ll find. He’s a horse-racing fanatic (and one heck of a handicapper) and he also follows the Razorbacks and the Missouri Tigers. Above all else, though, he’s a rabid Cubs fan — and a more long-suffering one than even me. I started watching the Cubs in 1983. By then Krup had been pulling for the “Lovable Losers” for at least 15 years. If you don’t believe me, ask him about how they collapsed down the stretch in 1969.
Krup and I spent Thursday night in St. Louis, then put on our Cubs jerseys for breakfast – as any respectable Cubs fan does in St. Louis — and hit the road to Milwaukee on Friday morning.
I’ll say this for the Brewers: Their stadium is one of the nicest ones I’ve visited. I especially enjoyed the statue of Hank Aaron. The game itself wasn’t great for the Cubs, whose thin hopes of making the playoffs were pretty much gone after a 4-3 loss in extra innings.
On Saturday, Krup and I hit the road early and I dropped him off at his house in Little Rock a little more than 12 hours later. I spent the night with my oldest son, Ronnie, and his family in North Little Rock.
On Sunday, I drove to Rogers where I met Lisa and we spent some time at the LPGA’s Northwest Arkansas Championship. By the time we got home, I was exhausted. I got exactly zero work done in four days from Thursday through Sunday.
This past weekend, Lisa and I attended Berryville’s homecoming football game, where I did my best to get photos of the homecoming queen and court. Saturday was Mowing Day — with a capital M and a capital D. I didn’t realize what a chore that was until I decided to do it myself to get some exercise and save a little money. I actually enjoy it, though, especially when it’s all done and looks nice. On Saturday afternoon, we drove to Fayetteville to attend a karaoke birthday party for Samantha Jones, the former associate editor here who remains one of my favorite people. We had a nice dinner at La Huerta and got home in time to watch the second half of the Arkansas- Ole Miss game.
Sunday was a perfect day to visit Silver Dollar City. We bought season passes this year, but we’ve been so busy we’d only used them once. We remedied that, getting in plenty of steps and enjoying the glorious fall weather. Back at home, we watched the first half of the Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers before bedtime.
Once again, I got exactly zero work done on Saturday and Sunday, but I had a blast. After working nights, weekends and holidays for almost 25 years, one of my goals when I came to Carroll County in 2014 was to find a work/life balance and enjoy myself a little. I’m able to do that now and I’m so grateful. Lisa and I will celebrate our second anniversary next month and being able to spend some relaxing time with her makes it even more special.
Still, I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. I’m still committed to this job and to making this the best newspaper it can possibly be. That’s why, when the alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. this morning, I only hit the snooze button five times. I was in the office by 5:30 and four cups of coffee later, I can scratch this column off my to-do list.
••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews. com.
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