When moving forward and quitting are both positive options

Occasionally the choice between giving up and continuing the task is unclear. Sometimes the choice is obvious. There are also times where I make the best decision possible during the moment.

During my four years living in New Orleans, I worked as a freelancer for multiple media outlets, mostly newspapers.

I covered prep and college sports because I did it before and it paid.

Fields in the New Orleans area are few and teams will start on Thursday and play through Saturday. Sometimes, consecutive games would be scheduled at one stadium.

One Thursday, I had a high school football game in the Jefferson Parish municipality of Kenner. That Friday, I had a game in St. Tammany Parish on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

I had no issues at Thursday’s game and filed the story from my car. I then called the sports desk to confirm receipt of my email then drove back to my place on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.

There was just one problem I would later discover. I forgot to grab the power cord for my laptop and it was likely still in the press box. I’d find that out Friday after I got to the site of the game.

I would need to leave very early to allow for time to get across the lake. If my memory is correct, I needed to go through Metairie, take the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and the school was in the part of St. Tammany Parish near Mandeville and Covington. The school was previously in St. Bernard Parish, which bordered the New Orleans neighborhood of the Lower Ninth Ward. The area was very flat and suffered a lot of damage during Hurricane Katrina.

I lived in New Orleans from 2011-2015 and there was still visible damage when I was there.

I get to the school, walk into the stadium and up to the press box. Since my deadlines were so tight, I chose to write what I could during the game, go get what quotes I could and hurry back to my car to file my story.

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During my time as a full-timer years ago at a daily newspaper in the southeast U.S., I walked the sidelines since I could. My deadline even allowed for time to drive somewhere to write.

Now, I barely had time to get to my car.

So, I open my laptop, pull out the computer and look for the power cord because I knew the battery was not strong.

It was not there and my laptop became a paperweight by the second half.

Sometime in the third or fourth quarter it became apparent, I was going to have to ask the host school’s headmaster for help.

Eventually, I swallowed my pride and got a half-hour with his office computer. Since he had somewhere to be, I tried to type my box score, write, send the email, and be on my way.

I got it done, confirmed the story’s receipt from a call to the sports department and let them know my circumstances.

I faced a similar situation earlier when I was at a high school wrestling match for one of the largest newspapers in my native state.

I was unaware I would not be able to find a place to send my story.

So, I dictated my article to the person answering my phone call.

It got done and I still have that writing sample.

I appreciate that editor taking a chance with me and checking once or twice when the publication had a need in my area.

These were a couple of examples of pushing through to complete a task. I’ve also had times when it’s been best to quit.

Once was a race I ran in for the first time. I entered a trail race without knowing it and I was not prepared at all. I had shoes for running on roads. It was muddy and wet. I fell several times and having to pay attention for every second was exhausting.

Oh, right. I got lost getting to the course and was 15 minutes late.

But, I wasn’t counting on breaking any records.

I was just glad to be racing again after many years.

That year, I completed a four-hour timed run at a hilly winery. I finished with 16 miles.

The next race was a “relatively flat” half marathon I completed two weeks after the four-hour run.

The course was relatively flat if it was being compared to the mountains further west in the state.

At the trail race I unknowingly entered it was a 25 kilometer race on two very treacherous loops in a state park.

I could handle the late start and even the falling in mud.

But, I came upon two spots I could not get across. It would have been a gamble to jump and nothing else seemed like it would work.

Thankfully, there was someone with poles nearby and I could get across both spots.

I made it to the end of the first loop and turned in my timing device which was strapped onto my right leg.

I told the people at the finish line I was in the 25k and was ending my race early.

I didn’t want to complete the second loop knowing I might not have anyone to help me across those two difficult spots.

I was grateful for being able to complete the first loop and hang in for as long as I did.

I ended up stopping at a big box retail store to get a clean jacket, headed home, and went to bed early that night. I was exhausted.