Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5012204/
I didn't much like Asa when I first met him. And he'd be quick to tell you that he didn't care for me either. "Things sure didn't get off to such a good start. Whew, we didn't get along!" To me Asa seemed brusque, gruff, and just downright mean. I've never had the courage to ask him what he thought about me. Asa has printed most of our magazine covers since March 1992; he retires this month, and I will really miss working with him.So what happened? One day, Diane, our rep, dropped a line about Asa's sense of humor. "Asa? You've got to be kidding! He's not funny at all! In fact, he's just plain difficult." So we compared our widely divergent Asa stories.
Still doubtful, I decided to test out this reputed sense of humor the next time we worked together - and the door opened to a friendship that enabled us to laugh and challenge each other through all those beautiful covers. Asa came to measure the days to retirement in terms of our magazine: "I have one turkey and five Child Cares to go."
It took a while to figure out why this story is so important to me. ...