"Where are the bodies?"

A reader called me at home about 5 minutes ago, about a homicide story I had in the paper today.

"Yeah, um, the newspaper said there's pictures of the bodies, but I ain't seen no bodies."

Me: "I'm um, sorry, but we don't print pictures of bodies. I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Her: "The story is on the front page and it stops and says, "BODIES" but when you turn the page, it just has the rest of the story. No picture of the bodies."

I then politely explain what a Jump is.

At least she's reading it ...

 

Yet another reason to have an unlisted number.

 

Or just a cell phone.
When I started getting strange phone calls late at night berating me for what I had written about local U's football team, I got on the bandwagon about getting a cell phone.

 

I haven't had anything but a cell phone for about five years now.

 

Actually - and this may make me doubly stupid - I leave my cellphone number on my work voicemail. She actually called me on my cell phone.

I get a few crazies - OK, quite a few - but I have a fear of missing a big story because people didn't know how to reach me.

 

Do you at least screen your calls? Or do you always answer it?

 

I sorta screen them. This call came over as restricted - at this hour I figured it might have been a police source or someone with a tip.

 

At least when you explained a "jump," she didn't.

 

We occasionally call coaches and players at home for stories... why can't readers call us whenever they damn well please?

W-B, you have better composure than I would have - I'm not sure I could have kept myself from howling with laughter during that phone call.

 

That's a little frightening, I'm not going to lie.

A reader calls me at home...fine. Well, not fine, but at least managable.

I'm not sure I could warm up to somebody calling me at home asking about pictures of dead bodies, in any context.

At least you weren't writing about a case of indecent exposure.

 

Why the hell would you leave your cell phone # on your work voicemail? I can't possibly think of a reason why this would be a good idea.

 

It's helped me so many times on the news side that I can't even begin to count. I don't mind them calling me late. The crazies usually call first thing in the morning - that's when I let it go to voicemail.