The voice mail shocked me so much that I had to play it again to make sure I had heard it correctly. A prominent citizen had unleashed a torrent of hate that culminated in the worst four-letter word you can call a woman.

Why? Because we had defied his order not to write a story about an upcoming community celebration.

When my boss listened to the message, he immediately sided with the angry reader. How did we upset him? What could we do to appease him? He must have misunderstood our intentions.

So, he took him out to lunch. I was appalled.

What happened next matters. After the meeting, my contrite boss returned to my office to apologize. His assumptions about the background to this incident had been blown away by the blind spots and entitlement of his lunch companion.

I went from planning to clean out my desk to loyally serving this publisher another 12........

© Peterborough Examiner