Idle Ramblings

Final Rambling
Today brings an end to an era. It was the day I put out my final newspaper and published my final Idle Ramblings column. I had wondered how I would feel once I put out my final paper. The answer, as it turns out, is I didn't really feel anything. There was no drama. No emotional pangs as I sent the last page to press. It was just over and the countdown of my last few hours in this career began.

I described it to Rebecca as how it must feel to end a long-term (16 years total, DM and Monroe County) relationship. The honeymoon's long-gone. The good times and the bad times are gone too. It's just time to call it quits. The newspaper business and myself have gone our seperate ways and I'm now free to date other careers.

After a lot of consideration, I'm retiring the Idle Ramblings name. I've used it for about 15 years now, ever since Rodney Crouther threw out the suggestion for a column name back at the DM. (I'm pretty sure it was Rodney. Even if it wasn't, I like to blame him for it.) I felt since this was a break from the newspaper business, I would make it a complete one. That will include this blog as well. I haven't decided if I will continue blogging under a different title or do something different like set up a web site. Once I get settled in I'll begin to ponder on the matter.

But for now, to all my vast Idle Ranblings readership, online and off, here is the final column I published in the June 16, 2004 Aberdeen Examiner:

After this week, Tuesdays will just be another day of the week.
For the past 11 years, Tuesdays have meant one thing - deadline day. It’s the day we put the finishing touches on The Aberdeen Examiner and The Amory Advertiser, and send it to Tupelo to be printed. For the past 11 years, it has effectively been the end of one work week and the beginning of another.
Now that’s changing.
This is my last week with The Amory Advertiser and The Aberdeen Examiner. After 11 years here in Monroe County working in the weekly newspaper business and 16 years total in the newspaper business, I’m moving on.
Next week, I return to my hometown of Water Valley where I will take over the reigns of the public library.
Anytime you leave a place after so many years it’s a big change. But I think the biggest change for me will be returning to my hometown after so many years.
The last time I lived there for any length of time was in 1990 just before I finished my undergrad degree and started graduate school. It was just for a month or so during the summer. Since 1985, I spent the occasional summer living in my parent’s home while in school, but this will be the first time I will be a member of the community as a full fledged “grown up.”
It will be an adjustment. If nothing else, I’ll have to spend time reattaching names with faces. I recently ran into a classmate of mine while visiting back home and while there was an spark of recognition, it took a while before the name and face came together. It hit me then just how much people can change over a couple of decades. I know I have.
When I left Water Valley to start my freshman year of college, I swore what most youngsters swear when they finally leave their hometown - I’ll never come back and live here. Surprise!
Like I said, people change and in the intervening years I’ve come to learn that it’s not where you live but how you live. When you’re 18, you’re chomping at the bit to experience life and when you come from a small, rural town, by the time you’ve hit 18 you feel like home has done about as much for you as it’s going to do.
But give it a couple of decades and you might find what you once found painfully dull brings on a new attractiveness and a place you once thought was too confining might one day give you the freedom you’ve been longing for all along.
Looking back over the past 19 years since I left high school, life has been constant progression and change. The eight years my wife and I have spent in Aberdeen have been the longest time we’ve lived anywhere since we left our parents’ homes. Before that, we lived in four different cities in four years. The longest time we spent in any one place before moving to Aberdeen was the three years we lived in Amory.
Our lives have always been about change. First my wife decided to change her career. She left teaching and is now enjoying success in law school at Ole Miss.
Now it’s my turn.
I’ve had a number of people ask if I’ll miss the newspaper business. After all, I have a lot invested in it. Some people tell me I’ll miss it enough to go back to it eventually. Some people who have been out of the business for a number of years say I won’t miss it at all. Honestly, I don’t know. Twenty years ago I said I’d never return to my hometown.
As for now, I’m looking forward to embarking on this new journey and being surrounded by a place that is familiar, but completely new at the same time.
In leaving Aberdeen, Amory and Monroe County, I am leaving places where I have experienced a number of firsts. When I came to The Amory Advertiser in 1993, it was my first “real” job after I left graduate school. The house in Aberdeen was the first home we owned. All our pets came from here in Monroe County.
Leaving Monroe County is like leaving anywhere else. There are things I will miss. There are plenty of people I’ve come to know over the years I will miss and, to be honest, there are a few I’ll be glad to never have to see again. But the nice thing is over time I will remember the good folks and good times and forget the rest.
There are a couple of last thoughts I have before I go. Aberdeen, Amory and Monroe County, together and individually, have a lot going for them. The county is beautiful, the people are hard working and the location is ideal. I’ve lived in both Amory and Aberdeen. Both communities have major differences, but both have a lot to offer each other. I hope the spirit of co-operation the people of the county have shown, especially the people in Amory and Aberdeen, will continue to grow. This county has a bright future and a rich history. This should be celebrated by every one here.
The people of Monroe County are also fortunate to have two of the best weekly papers in Mississippi. I’m not saying that because these are the people who have been paying my salary for the past 11 years. The Amory Advertiser and The Aberdeen Examiner have a rich, long history. They have a history of excellence in serving their respective communities and Monroe County as a whole. Today, they continue that tradition.
Over the years, I’ve looked back through the pages of the papers. Going back to the earliest papers, the two papers have always excelled in providing the people of Monroe County with the news and information they need.
You’d be hard pressed to find better, more dedicated people than those working at The Amory Advertiser and The Aberdeen Examiner. Each week, they put countless hours into each paper. The hard work and dedication shows. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you and a great experience to be able to work for two excellent newspapers. Monroe County is lucky to have these newspapers and these people. Be sure you continue to show them your support.
I’m not too good at saying goodbye. When I leave somewhere I usually just mumble something remotely related to the act of leaving and walk away. If what I say is understandable, it’s usually something like “See you later,” “I’ll see you,” or “later dude (depending of course who I’m talking to.)
“Goodbye” is too permanent sounding. “Farewell” is overly dramatic. “See you later” can be deceiving because you might not actually be planning to see the person again. “Talk to you later” is much the same. “I’m outta here” just sounds arrogant. “Bye” is short, to the point, but still sounds pretty permanent.
So, to me, there just really isn’t a good way to vocalize a parting of ways. The words and phrases we use either express more than is intended or don’t even scratch the surface.
With that in mind, I’ll just wrap it up like this......................

posted by Joseph @ 6/16/2004 01:47:00 PM