My journalism journey part 17

I was all set to go on my interview with the Aberdeen American News in Aberdeen, South Dakota. But first, I had to do a bit of fibbing.

I knew the publisher, Dean Neitz, would be upset if he knew I was looking to leave. So I couldn't let anyone in the office know. The only one I let know was our ad manager, Mick. Why Mick? Well, even though he and the former editor, Wally Mundstock, never got along, I had no problems with Mick. And Mick understood my predicament. He knew I had no future at the Leader if I couldn't be editor. He understood it was time to move on. And so he was my co-conspirator, so to speak.

I told the people in the office I was going to Yellowstone for a long weekend. It had been my plan originally. I instead took a plane from Butte to Minneapolis, then another to Aberdeen on a Friday. I spent part of Saturday talking to the editor, Cindy Eikamp, over lunch. Then I did a writing test for the sports editor, Ron Feickert, and talked with him for awhile.

On Saturday night, Wally and Margie picked me up at the hotel and took me out for dinner and a movie. I believe we saw an Indiana Jones movie, but I can't be sure. If it was, it would have been "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

On Sunday, I had brunch again with Cindy, and this time I broached the subject of my weight. I decided to come right out with it. "Do you have a problem with hiring someone of my size?" I asked. I was nearing 300 pounds at the time. She said no, except for health issues. But as long as I could do my job, she didn't care. Wally had cleared the way for me on this issue, telling her that I was a "big girl." So she knew I was overweight. I found out right away this wasn't going to be a problem.

The only problem was getting a recommendation from my current employer. I told her once I knew I was going to be hired, that was fine. But I knew how Dean would react. She didn't understand that; she said Knight-Ridder, of which Aberdeen was a member, moving along was encouraged. Well, not in Dean's world.

So I flew back Monday and waited for the yey or nay on the job. I kept my mouth shut and did my job as usual.

The day Dean got the call from Cindy, I was rather busy. I was interviewing some people who had been in China when the Tiananmen Square protests occurred. They had photos, too, so I was looking over photos and talking to them at my desk when Dean appeared at my desk, looking perturbed. But I was busy doing my job, and he couldn't interrupt me.

He came by a little later, too, and I was on the phone interviewing someone else. It was nearly 4 p.m. when I had some free time. Even then, I had to run out and get some stuff at the rec complex. So we didn't tal****il Friday when he invited me out to lunch.

"You know, if you had told me about this before you went to the interview, I wouldn't have been so surprised," he said. "I didn't know what to say. If I had known, I wouldn't have given you a good recommendation."

"And if you did that, I would have quit and called a lawyer," I said. I don't think he thought I was serious.

"Why do you want to go to South Dakota? All it does is snow there," he said. "I'll give you a raise to stay." He threw out a number but I don't remember it.

I told him I knew I had no future here because he would never make a woman the editor here. I had to go somewhere else to further my career. Finally, he gave up. And I gave him my two weeks' notice.

He said that wasn't nearly enough to find a replacement. But really, that's all any place gets, so it was reasonable. And then I started getting ready to move on.

I started packing up kitchen stuff to send to Wally and Margie in Redfield. They would store it until I moved. A friend in Big Brothers-Big Sisters was going to move most of the furniture and other stuff two weeks after I left. I was going to drive out there with my little brother, Ray, and two of my cats and whatever I could get in my car. I'd sleep on the floor until the mover got there.

Cindy and one of the other Aberdeen people found me a one-bedroom apartment that would wor****il I could figure out where I wanted to live. It took cats and there was a laundry area attached.

I had a moving sale before I left to get rid of a lot of stuff. It was the weekend before the Fourth of July, and it attracted a crowd. Even the cops came by, not so much to buy, but to say goodbye and to wish me a safe trip. I had people asking me how much my garbage bags were.

I hadn't planned on selling my stereo and 8-track player, but someone made me an offer, so it went, too. The more I could sell, the less I had to move. Dean bought a couple of my framed photos, as did one of the lawyers who long admired a large framed photo. I had to come down in price, but every penny helped in the move.

I had five cats at the time: Kittle and Cinnamon, my original brothers; Bootsie the ***** (a black and white out of their sibling's first litter; she was small but tough); Bonnie, a Siamese someone gave me; and Maggie, a white kitten that adopted me while I was on an interview. I couldn't take all of them. I decided to keep Kittle and Cinnamon and try to re-home the rest.

Maggie got a home. Two little girls came and took her (although they wanted to take Kittle, and he would go anywhere, but their dad wanted a young female already spayed). I wound up taking Bootsie and Bonnie to the Butte Animal Shelter because I couldn't find them homes. I cried all the way home after that.

I cleaned up as well as I could, and Ray and I packed the car on a hot July 3 night. We decided just to start driving even though I was tired. It was in the 90s during the day, but it was time to hit the road.

So long, Anaconda.