How to become a nun?

I don’t like to mix work with my personal life. I like to keep my hobbies at home and I try to keep my work at the office — which, that doesn’t always happen.

One afternoon my editor, without looking away from his computer screen, says: “Tiffany, roll your ass over here.” Giving a long exasperated sigh, I stop whatever I was doing to "roll my ass over” to his desk.

My good editor told me he wanted an enterprise piece from me, and he had an idea in mind. Since I was struggling with ideas of my own, I was open to suggestions.

“I want you to write a story about rock climbing,” he said.

A little taken back, “Come again? Rock climbing?" I immediately spewed out, "Absolutely not," to which he demanded logical reasons for my adamant refusal. I gave 'em to him ....

— It infringes on my personal life.
— I’d have to interview friends.
— I don’t interview friends well.
— There’s a holier-than-thou climber already in the office.
— etc., etc., etc.

My editor looked me dead in the eye and said, “So” to every one of my reasons. He then proceeded to tell me that rock climbing is something I enjoy and I would enjoy writing about it.

Not willing to compromise, and my editor not accepting no for answer, he said, “If you don’t do a story on rock climbing, I’ll make you do a story on how to become a nun.”

Silence.

I thought, "He wouldn’t do that."

Then I said, “You wouldn’t make me write something our readers didn’t want just to torture me.”

“You wanna bet?” my torturous editor said with a grin on his face.

Not wanting to write about nuns, I took all my logical reasons for not wanting to write a story on rock climbing and stomped on them. About a month later the story ran on a Sunday front page — big, bold and beautiful.

Monday rolled around and stopped at my editor’s desk. “That story turned out all right,” I said.

He spun around, looked at me with a “duh” look. “Of course it did, I don’t know what you were so worried about.”

To be honest, I really don’t know what I was so worried about either, but I’m glad I left “how to become a nun” a mystery.

The story is called "Uncovering the secrets of the wall," http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20107110302.

Photo was taken by Marius Van Der Merwe at Pioneer Park in St. George, Utah. I was working fiercely on a bouldering problem. I have yet to complete it.