On July 6, 1964, I walked into the Register office for the first time as a full-fledged employee. Sometime Tuesday I will walk out in that capacity.
But, dear readers, I’m not riding off into the sunset.
At nearly age 75 and with 53½ years of chronicling local happenings it is time to step aside from the daily rigors of workaday life, although it has never been a chore, rather a cherished part of my life.
The decision to reduce my workload comes at an opportune time. I will continue to report on county commission meetings, write At Week’s End and fill in whenever and wherever I can be of assistance.
Thank goodness for that. Quitting cold turkey would have been difficult. I still prize the opportunity to tell stories on Register pages.
But, I’ve other things to do — snuggling between two flannel sheets is appealing on early mornings this time of year — and I intend to devote more time to all the things wife Beverly has had to forfeit, she having been a lady in waiting for better than 12 years of her retirement. For one, journeys to Roswell, N.M., where daughter Brenda and family live will be more frequent.
I unlimbered my fishing pole for the first time in many moons last year and intend to go out more frequently with rod and reel. Metal-detecting and hunting artifacts, and just “messing around” in the garage, will be high on my agenda, as well as a little gardening — Beverly’s passion — and I may even put in a little flower garden in our front yard. That would look nice, I told Beverly, though I think she probably doubts my sincerity. I’ve never been one to tend flowers.
Then, too, reading will be my schedule each day.
FOR SOME TIME, I’ve wondered how to handle curtailment of my work schedule. “Curtailment,” because frankly I can’t bring myself to talk in terms of retirement. I’ve had a job since age 14.
It would be wonderful to gather all the folks I’ve written about since that first day and thank each one for having permitted me to become, mostly in vicarious fashion, a part of their lives. Most, I hope, were accepting of the intrusion, and delighted with having their stories made public. A few, I’m sure, thought otherwise, in cases of delving into the darker side of life that newspapers are obligated to report.
Frankly, there isn’t a venue large enough to hold all I’ve written about, nor enough time to thank each one.
So, I’ll let this missive do the trick, with all the sincerity I can muster.
