It's Time For Saying Goodbye

A part of my history will soon be gone.

I was saddened to learn today that my former newspaper and its sister publication will merge next month. The news is not surprising -- it's been rumored to be coming since long before I began working there five years ago -- but it's disappointing nonetheless. And my disappointment is not diminished because I no longer work there. That place is like my alma-mater; I learned and experienced so much during my time there.

My job at that newspaper was my first as a reporter, and it was there that I really learned to write. In fact, it was there that I realized I even like to write. I had wonderful editors who encouraged me to be as creative as I liked, and I took every opportunity to pursue my own story ideas. Because of that, I learned about much more than the things I routinely covered; I learned about the world around me, about things I never would have given a second glance otherwise. I learned to be inquisitive, to be bold.

As my first job in Illinois, it was my true introduction to this state and has had an impact on every single aspect of my life here. I now live just a few miles from the office, in the very town I used to cover. I know the government leaders and business owners. I know my way around town. I know all the good places for lunch.

I made many friends while working there. We got to be a pretty close staff; every day was fun, even the bad days. We went to lunch together every week, went out for drinks at least as often and traded war stories about our beats. We had our issues, as every workplace does, but as long as the plastic Halloween pumpkin (kept out all year round and periodically re-decorated to be seasonally appropriate) was full of chocolate, no problem seemed unbeatable.

The newspaper was also my safe haven when I went through a rough patch of major and difficult life changes. During that time, it was the one constant in my life; no matter what chaos was happening elsewhere, I knew I could count on that place, and my friends there, to keep me from tearing my hair out.

And I can't forget the most important effect that job had on my life -- I met my husband there.

I know there are those who have much more to lose with the end of this era; some are bound to lose their jobs, including the editors who have given their entire professional lives to that place. I feel for them and for their counterparts at the soon-to-be-former sister paper. Even if the change has been a long time coming, I'm sure today has been no less of a sad one for them.

The whole thing is a shame. Necessary and inevitable, but still, a real shame.