Going through the notes and memos my father wrote to me, I came across one to which he attached an editorial from the North Carolina Leader. The article was dated September 28, 1978, which was during my third year as vice president of Park Broadcasting.
His note said: “This is my friend Margaret Knox of the North Carolina Leader, and I must say I am in agreement with this.” The editorial was headed A special Breed and it read: Evidently most persons associate the definition of workaholic with something intrinsically bad and downright un-American.
This has come to the Leader’s attention in recent months; the fact that other employees and many others regard anybody they pinpoint as a so-called workaholic as someone not to be trusted, even a threat.
This editorial is in defense of those called workaholics.
What is commonly misunderstood is the very fact that work is fun. Yes, fun. Workaholics—those this newspaper knows—don’t work for a larger paycheck, or even anything material.
It takes someone with spirit and knowledge to so apply himself. Work must be so absorbing that the body and mind don’t tire.
Elation, the drive for excellence, and the ability to lose oneself—only to find oneself—are some of the rewards.
It is the Leader’s contention that most people do not understand this or relate to it at all.
The workaholics the Leader knows are extraordinary well-rounded men and women.
Because their own work is so absorbing to them [leads to]... an appreciation of excellence in other fields—sports, music, books, drama, a fine wine—and yes, even a perfect pizza.
Something has crept into the English language called “super-achiever.” This is classified by most in the same twilight category as the workaholic.
What is wrong with trying to be the best? Let’s bring workaholics and super-achievers out of the closet. One does what one has to do. This is still a free society, and if one is a workaholic, think of the names he is not called—lazy, slothful, selfish, greedy, etc., etc.
Come on now, is there something evil about being a workaholic? The Leader salutes them, and regards them as a very special breed. They generally help make the world better, relieve it of drabness.
Workaholics we know are the most caring people around. They are actually LIVING their dream.
The Lord must have a gleaming corner for them all.
As for that gleaming corner, in my father’s case, and being a closet workaholic, myself, I hoped so. But as the Bible says of the virtues of faith, hope and charity, “The greatest of these is charity.” With Pops, charity did not begin at home. Bringing home the bacon, did.
I got a kick out of the comment from my contact in tracking down permission to reprint the editorial. Jim Heavener, president of Vilcom in Chapel Hill, owned the newspaper at the time. He wrote, “Mr. Park was a distinguished broadcaster and it was a pleasure to be in touch with you this way. If he had owned the Leader, he would have figured out something that the previous owner…and I couldn’t. He would have made it make money.”