My daily routine is usually pretty uneventful. However, sometimes God tucks little nuggets of hilarity in my weeks to help me stop taking life so seriously. Here is one such an occasion.<br />
<br />
On Monday at approximately 9:25 am the phone rang, and:<br />
Me: "Jacobs Media and Wide Travel, good morning."<br />
Lady on the other end: "Hello?"<br />
Me: "Jacobs Media and Wide Travel, how may I help you?"<br />
Lady: "Yes, is this Fox 5?'<br />
Me: "No ma'am This is Jac..."<br />
Lady: (interrupting) "Well I NEED Fox 5 and the I-Team."<br />
<br />
At this point, the lady seemed pretty intent on needing some type of media attention, and she was obviously upset. I tried consoling her and told her that if there was a newsworthy situation I would be glad to help her get one of our newsroom anchors to talk to her and get a story for WDUN. <br />
<br />
Me: "Ma'am, what exactly is the problem?"<br />
Lady: (This is when she started crying.) <br />
<br />
I panicked and began imagining a double homicide that had happened at her home and we would be the first news agency to have the story. (Hey, I am ambitious and a little disturbed).<br />
<br />
"Well, I just got home and when I got out of the car I looked out at my yard and over on the fence I seen, yes I seen it (still crying). I seen the horrible kudzu that has started growing up over on my fence."<br />
<br />
All excitement and exhilaration drained from my entire body and I realized I was dealing with an elderly woman who was probably on the verge of a mental breakdown. I was as kind as possible but I had lost all interest in getting a reporter for her.<br />
<br />
I informed her that kudzu was a parasite and there wasn't really anything she could do but cut it back and wait for winter. She became insistent on me getting her to the I-Team so they could investigate her weeds. She ended up yelling a command that I get her to the I-Team.<br />
<br />
At this point I had let her yell at me long enough, and I politely informed her that unless there was a dead body in her kudzu, no respected news network was going to come and report on her gardening catastrophe. Then, I somehow caved. I Googled the I-Team's e-mail and local telephone number for her. <br />
<br />
Since I haven't seen any recent reports on channel 5 about rampant kudzu growth in northeast Georgia, I'm guessing she got hung up on by the I-team.<br />
<br />
<i>Katie Austin is a Buford native who has been with Jacobs Media since 2006. She is involved in social media, news, and is the first person you meet when entering Jacobs Media Corporation. Katie reports from North Georgia's newsroom, is a staff writer for AccessNorthGa.com, and also anchors various WDUN TV newscasts. Contact her at
[email protected] or 770-531-6500.</i>
