Calling sources on a holiday

Great story. That made me chuckle.

 

OK now he's a dick. And letting complaining parents know that one reason you can't write much about their kids is that you don't get the info, that would be entirely justified.

 

If calling the source on a "holiday" (and don't get me fucking started on Mother's Day being a "holiday") is absolutely vital to your writing the story, do it. You can express empathy with having to bother the source on the "holiday," but if you have a job that requires you to make that call, make it and don't think twice.

If calling the source can be done without it being a holiday, then wait.

 

The first words out of your mouth should be, "Sorry to call you at home/on a holiday/etc..."

That usually helps...

 

OK, so to put a fine point on the story, I went over there and the coach was completely cool and was like, "Oh, yeah, he's over there."

Some of these guys are just so gruff and curmudgeonly, you just don't know what they're thinking. Some h.s. coaches want three days to think about a feature on one of their kids, to weigh the pros and cons. Some don't understand why you're running it past them at all - "Just come by!"