Adieu, dear reader

Let’s take stock: We just won a bunch of editorial awards—in fact, more awards in a statewide contest than any other alternative weekly; the staff here is really solid now and producing better-written stories than in the past four-and-a-half years of my tenure; the paper is looking good; and circulation is improving.

So, of course, it is time for this editor to get on down the road.

Can’t handle success? Hardly. In this business, that’s always a never-ending quest. It’s more about seeing what else is out there.

My plan for the near future is solid in concept but vague on the details. After spending too much time caged in an office, I’ve decided to trek across mountains and roll down roads on my bike. Do some thinking—off deadline. I’ll figure out what’s next, when next comes calling.

An experienced editor once told me that when you get frustrated with a story that isn’t working, you should drop your pen and simply go for a walk. Also, when you get the chance (mostly on weekends), get outdoors and stare at beautiful things way off in the distance to counteract the ill effects of staring at a computer screen. It works, so I’ll do more of that for a while.

I can’t possibly thank all the people at SN&R who have helped me, or apologize to everyone who suffered a nitpicky editor. There are so many writers and editors who produce so much for so little that you would be amazed, and I am humbled thinking about all they have done for this newspaper during my watch. In reflection, I see it’s not about budgets, scheduling and the other delights of management. It’s all about the people and the stories.

When I got here, I made a pretty simple promise in this space: “We will reveal, explain, entertain, and at times persuade.” We did that as well as we could, and I know it will be done better in the future.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on down the road.