As I retire, a parting wish for readers
Time really does fly when you're having fun.
In 1985, I walked into The Mercury News for the first time and couldn't believe my good fortune to be working at a newspaper in one of the most beautiful and intriguing regions in the world. Except for a five-year stint from 19972002 as a stayat-home dad and editor for Forbes ASAP magazine, I've been here ever since.
But on Friday, after writing about 2,000 editorials and columns and editing more than 25,000 letters to the editor, I retired as The Mercury News editorial page editor and a member of the East Bay Times editorial board.
As a lifelong newspaper junkie, I know I'm going to miss the job — a lot. For the last two decades of my career, a newspaper paid me to have an opinion. How cool is that? I, in turn, did my best to fulfill our opinion-page mission of advancing debate on key issues facing our readers.
Who else gets to identify the leading topic of the day and then call the best experts to discuss it? I've always thought the Bay Area was filled with the most intelligent people I have ever encountered. Nothing has changed over the years to make me think any different.
And then there are the elections that are so critical to our future. Who else gets to actually interview hundreds of candidates and make recommendations to voters?
But it's time. I recently turned 68, and my wife, Barbara, and I decided a few months ago to retire on the same day. We hope to spend more time with our three children and two grandchildren, all of whom live nearby. We hope to travel, volunteer and hike as much as our health allows. But what I won't do — what I absolutely can't do — is stop caring about the issues that still confront our community.
My parting wish is that you will keep caring, too.
Ever since I was a young boy I have believed in the law of accumulation. It posits that every great achievement is an accumulation of hundreds of small efforts that few ever realize contributed to the outcome.
The notion appeals to me on multiple levels. In my younger days it motivated me to hit the tennis court on a daily basis, helping me transform from a raw beginner to a college player whose team qualified for nationals during my sophomore year. As an editorial writer, it spurred me to pursue Bay Area issues with all the passion I could muster. For if we are to solve the challenging issues before us, it will require all of us to do our part.
As an editorial writer for The Mercury News for 20 years and editorial page editor for the past five, I'm well aware of the seriousness of those issues.
Housing. Homelessness. Climate change. Water. Wildfires. Privacy. Artificial intelligence. Transportation. Gun control. Abortion. Gay rights. And that's just for starters. Never before in my lifetime was our very democracy at stake.
It can be overwhelming, causing people to lose hope. But we must retain our belief that we can solve these issues. Through it all I recall what my teacher taught me in my fourth grade Sharpstein School classroom in Walla Walla, Wash. “The great thing about America, Eddy,” Mrs. Bafus said, “is we always get things right in the end. It just takes longer than it should.”
Don't give up on the Bay Area. Don't give up on California. Don't give up on America. The region is full of good people working daily to achieve great things. I urge you to do what you can, big or small, every day, to help us overcome the challenges before us.