THANK you; a football story from the 1980s

Years ago, I was working at a daily newspaper, and the phone rang. A country voice said, "Can you tell me the score of the Oklahoma-Kansas State game?"

"77-3," I said.

"Thank you," he replied. He hung up.

A minute or two later, the phone rang again and the same country voice said, "Can you tell me who won the Oklahoma-Kansas State game?"

I asked, "Do you really think that K-State could beat Oklahoma 77-3?" I wasn't being smart aleck; I was serious. So was he.

"Thank you."

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

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• A desperate writer working in the dark

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EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

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• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

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• The Dog Diary (2014)

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BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

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(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

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(the book of great NASCAR stories)

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