Mistakes
The whirring of the fax machine and the pinging of my Inbox are sure signs that yet another issue of PRB (Parks & Rec Business) has hit the street.
Normally, I just collect all the correspondence, respond to those that require it and hand them off to our managing editor who publishes a selection of them in our This-N-That department. But, this month, I thought I’d highlight one particular e-mail because, quite frankly, I thought it was funny:
From: Julianne Blackburn
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 4:20 PM
To: rodney@northstarpubs.com
Subject: Publisher's note
Hello,
I’m a big fan of your publication (especially the writings of Ron Ciancutti) and today I received your magazine. I read your “Closing Time” entry and I consider myself a “child of the 90’s” but was born in 1982. When I read Matchbox Twenty in your article, I thought “It wasn’t Matchbox who sang that song” so I looked it up. It was actually Semisonic.
I don’t want to come off as any sort of know-it-all, but if there was a Jeopardy! category titled 90s music … that would be the only category where I would get any points. J (smiley face) Have a great day! (Keep up the good work.)
Julianne Corinne Blackburn
Recreation Supervisor
City of Greenville, NC, Recreation & Parks Department
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Julianne,
I know – how embarrassing.
I actually figured this out about a week ago when I was driving. The song came on XM Radio and when I looked at the screen, it said the song was by Semisonic.
I drove the rest of the way thinking, “That can’t be right.” After all, I had “Googled” the song to find out who sang it and even had a spirited debate with my creative director on how to spell Matchbox Twenty (was it Twenty or 20).
Obviously, Google (and my fact-checking efforts) failed. Well, kind of failed. Best I can figure is that Matchbox Twenty covered the song at some point and I didn’t dig far enough. Of course, when I Googled “Closing Time” again, Semisonic came up first. Go figure.
Regardless, thanks for letting me know. Because of your eagle-eyed efforts (and because you took the time to write) I’m sending you the much-coveted PRB pen. You can use it to write another letter!
Glad you enjoy the magazine.
Sincerely,
Rodney J. Auth
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How is this relevant to anything?
This month’s issue is always a bit of a bear to put to bed. The Buyer’s Guide section in particular is full of important details that have to be checked, re-checked and then checked again.
I assure you, we did not use Google--and the whole staff was involved--so I’m sure we got it right. And, if we didn’t, I’m equally sure one of you will let me know--hopefully with a smiley face.
Enjoy!
Rodney J. Auth
Publisher