The End of ... Something

"If we got a few good licks in
no one's ever gonna know
cause we're going out of business
everything must go."
--Steely Dan

Today the recession caught up with me in the form of the news that a tabloid I wrote for ceased publication. It was a monthly newspaper for and about retirees in Central Missouri--not the most exciting stuff but enough to create a respectable paper. It seemed to have plenty of advertising from nursing homes, medical groups, insurance agencies, home health providers and hearing aid companies.

I wrote about antiques in a column called Then & Again that discussed what something had been used for and its current collectible value. It was an easy $60. In fact, every month when the check would arrive I'd be surprised and glad all over again and take the family out for Chinese.

I'm proud to say in the three-plus years I wrote the column I never covered the same subject twice. My last one was about wrist watches and along the way I also wrote about dog collectibles, Santa Claus stuff, vintage furs, wedding gowns, movie posters, bicycles, road maps, rock band t-shirts, table cloths, sewing patterns, campaign collectibles and much more.

When she sent her farewell email, the editor told me Then & Again had been one of the most popular features in the newspaper. To me that's simply amazing because during the entire time I wrote it, I never heard a single comment from anyone, ever. Not once. Never. So it's the end of something, but apparently nothing anyone will miss. (And unfortunately it's not preserved online.)