Some children want to be astronauts when they grow up. Others want to be veterinarians, firefighters or clowns. And still others, like the author of these lines, have dreamed of being like Karla Kolumna since they were little girls. If you don’t know her: This is the frenzied reporter from the animated series “Benjamin Blümchen”. Kolumna works at the Neustadt newspaper and is always on the move, no news remains hidden from her. That’s exactly how you imagined it as a child, this exciting existence as a journalist.
Unfortunately, imagination and reality often diverge. For example, when you are assigned to report crimes as a court reporter for a local newspaper. Because the very first time in court you are a bit excited, but by the third time at the latest the awe of the people in black robes has cooled and you just hope that no further days of trial will be scheduled or that a witness will not be necessary again located to appear. But particularly annoying are the days when you struggle to get out of bed very early, only to find out from the security guards at the district court that the fraud case is simply canceled at 8.45 a.m.
It doesn’t matter, the frenzied reporter thinks when that happens again on Tuesday morning. Then you just grab a coffee and sit down in the 9.45 a.m. hearing instead, the allegation of dangerous bodily harm promises to be exciting after all. What you don’t think about: The wheels of justice grind much slower than the coffee grinder at the baker’s. When you are standing in front of the same courtroom again an hour later, just a few minutes before the actual start of the trial, this court hearing is suddenly crossed out as if by magic and is therefore also cancelled. Couldn’t we have known that earlier? Obviously not.
In any case, the reporter, who on this day is at most mad with rage, has to accept that life as a journalist is not only exciting and eventful, but is often also a mixture of waiting and bad coffee – no matter what Cartoon character Karla Kolumna made you believe as a little girl.