This is goodbye for now, but I’ll be sure to write

There are some things I didn’t plan. I didn’t plan to write my final column for The Cambrian this week, any more than I planned to become managing editor 3½ years ago.

When I took this position, I stepped outside my comfort zone. I’d gotten started in journalism as a reporter, but that was a long time ago. Since then, I’d spent a couple of decades working on copy desks, having very little contact with the public. This job offered me a chance to expand my horizons. It was scary, but exciting. My boss, Sandy Duerr, asked me to become “the face of the newspaper” in Cambria.

Full disclosure: Kathe Tanner was the real face of this newspaper when I arrived, and that hasn’t changed. She’s been an utter joy to work with, and there are so many things I couldn’t have done without her support, nudges and whispered advice. I’m gratified that she’ll continue to write stories that capture the heart of the community and, most importantly, the people who live here.

This is a beautiful place, and I’ve met some wonderful people on many sides of different issues. I won’t miss covering some of those issues – the ones that all too frequently divide this community – because they sometimes put people I admire on opposite sides of the fence. When it comes down to it, I’ve always cared more about the people than the issues. That’s not to say the issues are unimportant, but it’s the people who define a community. More than water plants and growth, more even than Monterey pines and castles and elephant seals.

I had several goals when I took this position. For one, I wanted to improve the coverage of education, and I’m proud to say that The Cambrian won a statewide award for education coverage from the California News Publishers Association in 2016. For another, I wanted to promote strong coverage of the arts, because I’m an artist (an author) myself, and I believe the creative spark is the soul of any community.

Perhaps most of all, I wanted to promote civility in an era when, increasingly, people spend more time talking than listening. The motto on the opinion page reads, “A good newspaper is a community talking to itself.” I’d add two words to that: “and listening.” I’ve tried to listen to the many voices in this community during my time as editor, and hope I’ve provided a forum where they can be heard.

The Cambrian’s freelancers have been invaluable in enriching my time here, and I’d like to acknowledge each of them: Consuelo Macedo, John FitzRandolph, Art Van Rhyn, Dianne Brooke, Christine Heinrichs, Charmaine Coimbra, Lee Oliphant, Patrick Dennis, Marcia Rhoades, Michele Oksen, Michele Roest, Connie Gannon, Jo Ellen Butler, Verlinda Bailey … Thank you for the privilege of working with you and enjoying your work.

Thank you, most of all, to my wonderful wife, Samaire, who has supported me throughout this journey.

One final thought. These past six years on the Central Coast have given me an opportunity to return to my first love: writing. That’s why I got into this business, and working here has given me the chance to write stories and columns about topics that matter to me and the community. I’ve had a blast doing it. I’ve also been writing outside this forum, producing more than a dozen novels and nonfiction books about everything from highway history to philosophy to fantasy.

And there’s more where that came from. This is my last column as managing editor of The Cambrian, but I don’t plan to stop writing. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not ever.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 8:31 AM with the headline "This is goodbye for now, but I’ll be sure to write."