On Tuesday, I biked to Ann Arbor and started my day with a strong cup of black coffee at the Liberty St. Argus Farm Stop. It was a lovely, warm, sunny space, the bookshelf to my left was filled with realistic stuffed birds, and a little kid was adorably discerning about which tiny shopping cart he wanted to push around the store.
I was there to meet a prospective writer who told me he was interested in writing about people and profiles. I was about to launch into a well-worn spiel — our Ann Arborites series is booked through next year, everyone wants to write profiles, can I interest you in writing about something else?
But then I was like… wait a second, if everyone wants to WRITE profiles, then doesn’t it stand to reason that everyone also wants to READ profiles? Of course — people are interested in people! The conversation was an excellent reminder that people should always be central to the Observer’s reporting.
After a few more meetings and some good ol’ email catch-up, I was feeling lazy, so I plied my husband with the promise of dinner if he came and picked me up. We ended up at the Carlyle Grill. Gotta love a good bread basket, and they make a mean Jameson, ginger, and lime.
The next day, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the A2Y Leadership Retreat. So many interesting people! I talked about music with a banker and mission with a nonprofit director and dive bars with some Washtenaw County employees. I asked a tall accountant what he did instead of playing basketball in high school. I met a woman whose husband is from the same town in south Jersey as my husband. I asked a woman if she was going to a Meet Your Elected Officials event and then realized she was Sue Shink.
Meeting our elected officials.
I also got to spend the night at Weber’s and take my husband on another dinner date, also at Weber’s. I’m not normally a jazz person, but the vibe at the Habitat was so nice!
This photo doesn’t do justice to the lobster bisque.
The whole point of the retreat was to go over our CliftonStrengths test results. (My top 5 are empathy, belief, connectedness, developer, and learner.) It was dubious in the way personality tests tend to be (Am I “part of something larger than myself,” or am I “a realistic person”?), but also illuminating in the goofy way personality tests tend to be. It was also a great ice-breaker. My favorite interactions are when the walls come down, and it turns out a sheet of paper listing your strengths and weaknesses, complete with a color-coded pie graph, is essentially a social wrecking ball.
One thing I noticed was that I answered Yes to the questions about trying to make everyone feel included. When I’m out with a big group of people, my favorite thing to do is ask everyone at the table the same question. (That’s how, at a recent Observer event, we learned that almost all of us are older siblings!) I was the kid who dreaded recess because I didn’t have anyone to play with, and to this day, it makes me sad to think someone might feel left out.
It’s a sweet urge that comes from a kind place, but boy howdy it makes cultivating an editorial lineup INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT! This person took the time to write me an email about something they think is important. If they care about it this much, other people probably do too. Who am I to say no? Answer: A person who has to contend with the realities of print journalism.
And so, dear reader, as I set the lineup for the upcoming few months of the Observer, I would like you to know that each lineup is a literary yoga flow that balances ideas and enthusiasm, words and art, deadlines and “life happens,” topical variety and the reality of the news landscape, all within the cold, hard, unbudging constraints of space limitations. And, as I was reminded this week, people at the center.