Bo-ring.

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I'm not going to beat around the bush here: Sometimes, not always but occasionally, if you catch me at just the right moment and I happened to be in just the right kind of mood, which doesn't occur very often, I might be inclined to maybe admit that deep within the recesses of my mind where exists all of my unspoken honesties I can rarely find my job to be a smidgen bit dull at times.

It's not that I don't love what I do, because I do; it's just I've been writing stuff and photographing things here at The Itawamba County Times for nearly six years now and there's only so many times a person can cover a county or city board meeting or write about a student's academic excellence without the topics wearing a bit thin. Sorry, guys. It's the truth.

That said, days like today remind me of why I love this job. Later today, I will be traveling to Fairview to interview a little girl who talked two of her fellow, elementary-aged classmates through a gunshot injury. That's right, one of her ten year old buddies accidentally shot another of her ten year old buddies and instead of calling 911 or their parents like you or I or most anyone else on the planet would have done, they called this little girl. And, she knew what to do. What are the odds?

As a person who begins to panic when the brakes in his car begin squeaking uncharacteristically, I can't imagine what I'd do if one of my friends called asking for "Oh crap, I'm bleeding, what do I do?" type advice. I'd probably cry.

This girl must be a real badass. I've never seen her, but I picture short-cropped hair, a couple of tats and perhaps a grizzled beard. She'll have a cigar tucked between her lips, of course, and will speak with the kind of stone-hewn voice that suggests the sound of boulders passing each other in the night. Likely, she'll see me as the weak, cowering individual I am and immediately spit on my face, which will only serve to make me tougher after I've stopped crying.

I'm really looking forward to this. The story should make the March 9 paper.