Op-ed: Mistakes happen by Barbara Presnell

Sometimes they come and go as swiftly as minutes. Sometimes they affect our lives in ways we can’t control. Sometimes they can do great damage. 

In this case, nothing was harmed except perhaps, briefly, my reputation. However, I must believe that readers of my work, whether it’s poetry, essay, opinion, or fact, know that I would never, could never, have written the piece entitled “Rebuttal to DC Democratic Women’s Reasons to Vote Blue,” would never have thought the thoughts expressed in the op-ed. Thanks to all of you who knew immediately that this was not my work. 

To argue the points in that op-ed piece is not the purpose of this writing. The purpose here is simply to clear my name, dissociate myself from the opinions expressed in that piece, and ask readers to please forgive any confusion. 

I was as surprised as you were to see my name at both the top and the bottom of the op-ed, but it was my brother who made initial contact with Davidson Local’s editor to say, “My sister could not have written this.” God bless him. 

The editor was horrified as well, for she knows, as we all know, that our names are perhaps our most important assets, and to mess up a name is one of the worst social errors we can make. My business writing students used to fail assignments when they misspelled or otherwise misused a client’s name. It’s that important. 

But, mistakes happen. 

Something similar occurred years ago when I was writing for a magazine in Greensboro, and the bylines on my and another writer’s articles were accidentally switched. In that case, though, the piece I was said to write was written well and was something I’d have been proud to call my own. Then, as now, editors made good on their error, printed a correction, and that took care of it. 

Many thanks to my brother, Edwin, for making the call. Many thanks to Antionette for making the immediate fix. Many thanks to you, dear readers, for keeping your faith in me. And, many, many thanks to Davidson Local for allowing all sides a voice, regardless how extreme, and being quick to correct a mistake.