Several weeks ago, in early July when I spoke of the 30th anniversary of my father’s passing in 1994 I had mentioned then that I had spent 30 of my nearly 60 years of life, depending on how you choose to look at it, almost 30 years with my father in person, or nearly 30 years without him in person. As I prepare myself for my 60th birthday next week, I reflect on some key highlights in my life to date.
Obviously, my upbringing tops them all off, as my parents were both wonderful people, and each had their own stake in helping to “form me” into who I still believe I am today.
Dad was the level-headed, thinkbefore- you-speak kind of person who rarely just blurted out what he was thinking, unless of course I had crossed him in the wrong way, and yes, I unfortunately crossed him in the wrong way a few times.
Mom, on the other hand, was a reaction-type lady. You knew what she was thinking, because it was rare that she didn’t speak before she thought...if that makes sense?
My sisters and I have learned to deal without both parents for quite some time now, but thankfully, even though we don’t see each other often, we remain close, which to me is another big highlight of my life, because it could have been really easy to just go our own ways, and to some degree we have, but we remain close.
Over the years, as I keep tacking on the years, a lot of my own personal beliefs and ways of life have been formed by my parents. Often, as a thinker like my dad, I will “talk to my parents” and ask the questions that are looming in my head at any given time. And honestly, that is a great way for me to sort things out, because I do feel that in many was, even though they have been gone 25 and 30 years now, they still reflect within my life, maybe not daily, but certainly often.
I’ve seen 11 United States Presidents come and go, a few served two terms, but when I came into the world in September of 1964, Lyndon Johnson was serving the final two years of John F. Kennedy’s term after Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Obviously, there will be a 12th US President coming officially this coming January, so to me, that’s “aging” as well.
I moved to Clay County when I was 45 years old, yep, 15 years ago after a few years out of the newspaper business, and all in all, it’s been a rewarding change for me for the most part. Sure, there have definitely been some trying moments while serving this county and the newspaper, but as I move forward, once I hit the “Big 6-0” this next week there will be a few changes that will come for me personally, as a matter of fact, some of you have probably already noticed it. I guess in a way, it’s my birthday present to myself, as I’m really not in a celebratory mood this year, so I’ll “gift myself,” if you will.
I am in no way stepping away from the Clay County News, but I have taken a step back in the same right. Since taking over ownership of Printing MD in recent years, I’ve always wanted to try and “beef Printing MD up,” for lack of a better term, so that is what I’m trying to do currently.
You may not see me at as many events as you have the past 15 years, but that in no way means that you won’t see me. I see the great potential of building up the printing company so that we can add to the services much more to the Clay County News as a whole. Again, this effort does NOT mean that I’m done with the newspaper at all, it just simply means that I’m trying to control the amount of hours I’m putting on myself personally in both a physical and mental way. Working 60, 70, or 80 hours some weeks is a thing of the past for me. The seven-month stretch when Ashley Swanson needed a breather from the paper was a major drain on me, and I’ll be honest, I’m still trying to find that “road gear” if you will, from the major burnout that set in during that seven month stretch, and it’s not coming easy.
You won’t see as many “bylines” by Tory Duncan each week, but, whether you like it or not, you WILL still see “The Bull” each week. I’ll also be writing some feature stories here and there, along with covering a few meetings for the paper, so while I’m trimming back the hours for me personally, I’m not totally stepping back by any means. I also have a nephew who is more and more active at his school in Western Iowa, and I do plan on taking in some of his winter and spring sports activities, as I only have this year and next to soak in some of his activities.
So as I prep myself for a big milestone in my life, turning 60, I do look at what we’ve done in the past 15ish years with the Clay County News as a good thing. We miss things, there’s no doubt, and hopefully with the addition of a new staff writer and salesperson this week in Charleigh Ambrose, which you can read more about in the next week or two as we introduce her to you all, we’ll miss far fewer things.
Turning 60 is just another day, it really is, but I do know that my body and mind are telling me that it is time to slow down a little more, focus on what my first real love is, that being the printing industry, will enable us to build an even stronger CCN and Printing MD, and to expand our services even more for all of you.
