For several years mom worked as a copy editor at the Daytona Beach News-Journal. I remember that she seemed to truly enjoy that job; she was brilliant at writing and editing and – thanks to her life-long love of sports – became friends with all of the sportswriters at the paper.
NASCAR legend Bill Elliot visited the News-Journal offices shortly after the Daytona 500 one year and mom got to meet him. I told all of my classmates and it was a pretty big thrill for a few days. (He signed a few hats and beer cozies that we owned for a long time but have since been lost.)