His beliefs are not always popular, but he defends his actions, saying, “The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it.” Good and bad are often flip sides of the same coin. My first front-page article, with proper byline, elevated me from cub to reporter. The whole newsroom chipped in for a gardenia corsage, which I wore until it wilted. Gill let me know, however, that Ned hadn’t chipped in for the flowers. I wasn’t surprised. He was the senior reporter of our team, and I had ended up with the scoop. That wouldn’t sit well with him. What was surprising was that Mr. Monson found me a Remington Junior typewriter—“Seventeen Pounds of Satisfaction”—with a complete set of working keys, and I began to find my name in his assignment book on a regular basis. I sent clippings of my President Wilson interview to everyone—Uncle Holt, Perilee, Leafie, Rooster Jim, and Ruby. Even Charlie. He wrote right back, saying, “Nothing like starting at the top! Who’s next?
