Truman's Entry

Mac beat my second before I could post it . . .

Where's Jenna? Jenna? Jenna? Can Zach stay?

Thanks, William -- you're a prince.

But to be completely honest, the thing's too long and I just didn't have the time to cut it.

I really appreciate how much you've been rootin' for me, man --everyone who has been-- but the rules can only be bent so far.

If by some miracle it's deemed ok, great; but if not, I understand. It's me own fault.

In any case, whenever I get the chance I'll be watching this board like a hungry fat man -- don't want to miss out on anything sweet.

Good idea, Mac, but then we'd have to pay them.

Works for me

MacAllister said:

In fact, maybe we should just stop eliminating contestants, now. We can hold them captive and make them churn out 1000 words or so a week, for our entertainment.

Indefinitely.

It's starting to hurt too much to lose them.

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Here here, Mac. I've been reading (lurking) and voting, and it's getting harder each week to lose someone.

I'd hate to take trumancoyote out of the running because of a technicality. Hell, it's barely midnight on the west coast.

I bet we do lose another. We did the first time when Bass dropped out. If not, why'd we write our entries?

It sucks that Truman didn't have the time to cut the word count, or the time zone right. If I were in China, I'd screw the time zone up, too, no doubt about it.

It just plain sucks

reph said:

Good idea, Mac, but then we'd have to pay them.

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Would we? bwaaaahahahaha...

I vote to keep Zach for this round... he's trying, 10,000 miles, in a non-English-speaking country where finding an Internet connection would be a problem... not to mention incredible jag lag. It think this is a rare exception. And trust me, the time difference between US and China is very confusing. He was off by 1 hour, and it could have been a time zone miscalculation...

The fact is, he tried. He didn't just blow it off. I think there's merit in that, and in the spirit of the game, I vote to allow it.

Then again, of course, it's up to Jenna. And if the contestants think it's only fair...

Hard call - on the one hand, it's great that Zach made the effort given his circumstances. On the other hand, rules are rules, especially in a competition. Tough decision - glad I don't have to make it.

(if Jenna does decide to disqualify his entry, I think we should still vote this week...)

I don't want Zach to leave, because he's phenomenally talented and I love his writing; he should rightfully be one of the final three. However, it sounds to me like the contest has taught him just how well he writes, and now he wants to enjoy his time in China without the pressures of the contest. Much as I think he deserves to *win* (not just continue), there's a lot of pressure here and not a whole lot of support for what is ultimately his decision.

Of course we all want to keep reading his work; I've no doubt he'll be winning major awards in a very short time. I just don't think it's fair to put pressure on him to stay if he doesn't feel he can.

I'm not saying this as a competitor - I'd be honoured to lose to Zach. I just think we should support whatever decision he makes.

I agree with what the Maestro Man said.

Truman! How could you. You probably slept didn't you. Couldn't you just go without sleep and whittle down your entry!?

Just kidding.

Thanks for posting...I sure hope your extenuating circumstances are taken into account.

Aw, Zachie - you gave it your all and that's all anyone can expect from themselves (so says the maven of imperfection).

I'd vote to allow his entry but of course understand the vailidity in the other alternative.

Ah, but to play devil's advocate for a moment...

There was nothing stopping Zach from posting a story well before the deadline (since I presumed he knew ahead of time that he was going to be leaving)...I know that there's something mysterious about waiting until the last minute, but problems are bound to arise from doing so......

(Haskins...)

firehorse said:

Much as I think he deserves to *win* (not just continue), there's a lot of pressure here and not a whole lot of support for what is ultimately his decision.

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I didn't see the post a few days ago when he said he might want to drop out. It was gone by the time I signed on the next morning so I have no idea of how strongly worded it was. I got the sense from his most recent post that he's sorta, kinda hoping that Jenna will disqualify him because he'd rather be focusing on other things right now (however, I could be wrong). But he did post an entry, when he could have just let it go, and so people are discussing what should be done with a late entry that's too long. I think you're being unfair to everyone here. If Zach flat out says he wants to quit and sticks to his guns, I have no doubt that we'd all understand and wish him well.

Zach, do you really want to bow out? If so, that might end all debate here and now.

Otherwise, I say give 'im a break and let us get to voting!

astonwest said:

Ah, but to play devil's advocate for a moment...

There was nothing stopping Zach from posting a story well before the deadline (since I presumed he knew ahead of time that he was going to be leaving)...I know that there's something mysterious about waiting until the last minute, but problems are bound to arise from doing so......

(Haskins...)

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Zach left for China on Thursday. It took over 24 hours just to get there, then he had to take the train to his final destination. And before that, do you really think you won't be running in circles trying to get everything ready before your 10,000-mile journey and a 2-month exile in a foreign country? Not to mention getting his life here settled and dealt with...

Given the circumstances, I really think it's commendable that he's staying in the game. We should be encouraging our contestants, and not punishing them.

Of course, if he really, truly wants to bow out, that's his decision. As a friend and a fellow AW'er, however, I encourage him to stay. Quitting is seldom a good alternative... don't we all preach about "perseverance"?

maestrowork said:

Given the circumstances, I really think it's commendable that he's staying in the game. We should be encouraging our contestants, and not punishing them.

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My turn to play devil's advocate: rules are rules. If we allow Zach to break them based on circumstances in his life, then we'll have to do it for everybody. Next week, a competitor might say s/he couldn't post in time because of a family emergency. Another might post an entry that's 50 words too long. If we've already allowed one competitor to "get away with it", how could we deny another. Where do you draw the line?

Of course, if he really, truly wants to bow out, that's his decision. As a friend and a fellow AW'er, however, I encourage him to stay. Quitting is seldom a good alternative... don't we all preach about "perseverance"?

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Perseverance is good. So is knowing when to quit.

First, I have to agree with brinkett...

William Haskins said:

anybody heard from jenna on when voting's gonna start?

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I imagine there's probably a big pow-wow going on discussing the fate of Zach's entry, and we won't hear about the vote until that decision is made...

...but what do I know?