Finishing

I promised to finish the book manuscript by April 30. A deadline is always a plus; I have almost always finished ahead of a deadline, at least 995 out of 1000 times. Back in the newsroom in Boston, the editor hung over me like a gargoyle: "Rankovic! You have 10 minutes! What's the holdup, are you writing the creation of the world? You are not James Michener! We have a news hole! We have a deadline! Nine minutes and your butt is grass! Flaherty, kick her, maybe she'll work faster!" How good to look back and think I have probably written more than 1000 pieces on a deadline.