A small act of kindness from a big man_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

A small act of kindness from a big man

BTI. At fourteen letters across on a blank piece of paper, I needed at least 57 lines. At 4.20 I had three. And then it came, a stream at first, then in torrents. I finished, submitted it to the editor, he read it, went through it with his blue editing pencil, marked it more than I liked, gave it to the typesetters and said nothing. The following day, 10.30 am, the crack of dawn for journalists, I get a phone call. It was the editor. He never rang at that ungodly hour unless there was a monumental blunder that demanded a severe dressing down.

"He called me," the editor said.

I must have swallowed hard. No, no, don't tell me I messed up the interview.

The words "Ok, what is it?" emerged from a dry throat.

"He didn't like it."

"OK. What part?"

"All of it."

Silence.

"As I said, he didn't like it…he loved it."

A small act of kindness from The Champ. We will not see his like again.

As Muhammad Ali might be saying… At last, I am in heaven.

Anyone who challenges me here will go down in seven.

Broadcaster:

Greg Fountain is a copy editor and occasional presenter for China Daily. Before moving to Beijing in January, 2016 he worked for newspapers in the Middle East and UK. He has an M.A in Print Journalism from the University of Sheffield, a B.A in English and History from the University of Reading.