In a vast and vigorous metropolis that just renewed its world-class status by hosting an international sporting event and countless international visitors, locating an out-of-town daily newspaper seemed like the simplest of tasks. Quite honestly, it seemed like no task at all.
Riding a wave of confidence, I went to the Stand one bright, sweltering Tuesday morning to make my purchase. The clerk was sitting in full view of passersby, making his way through an ultra-high-gloss publication titled Orgy. It took a good 30 seconds for his trance to break.
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I told him, no, I needed today’s Times. If I’d had the patience I might have told him that my first Times story was supposed to be in the issue. The editing process had been long and painful, and rounds and rounds of phone calls and voice-mail tag had inflated my long-distance bill well beyond my monthly budget (this was before I knew about the paper’s editorial 800 line)–and probably annoyed the hell out of my editor. So when her assistant called to promise the story would run, I couldn’t ask her to send me a copy.
“Try the library,” said the clerk. “They get them daily. Maybe they’ll have one to spare. If they don’t have it, try Los Angeles.”
“We’ve got today’s Trib if you want it,” she offered.
When my turn finally came I posed the question: Can you find today’s LA Times?
In Los Angeles one can find daily Chicago papers at more than a few shops, I thought. What the hell kind of town was this then? Was I asking for the Sioux City Times? Was I really in Sioux City?
