In my rush today to get caught up from four days of whirlwind travel, I totally spaced on calling an interview source at noon—the time we'd agreed to when we talked on Saturday evening. She called me at 12:22, wondering what happened. I felt so stupid. It was written in my calendar and on my to-do list, and I'd even planned my morning so I'd be back in the office with plenty of time. I was just so caught up in other things that I'd forgotten. I apologized and meekly explained my situation. I really was (am) sorry that I'd inconvenienced her the way I did.

I know my sources are incredibly busy people, for the most part. Their time is just as valuable to them as mine is to me (and, boy, do I know how frustrating it is when a source doesn't call me or isn't available at the time that we set up!). I have a difficult enough time getting people eager enough to want to talk with me. I know if I go abusing my commitment to them, I would lose every good source from here out.

And this source is a good source. I'd talked with her for an article before. She was helpful enough to warrant a "call again" check in my source database. When someone else had suggested I talk with her for this article, I was happy to. I only hope that next time she will still be as happy to talk with me!