Life is filled with milestones we use to take stock of life:
Marking another trip around the sun. Bearing witness to big historical events. Celebrating a special day.
Tomorrow is a pretty big one for me.
Sept. 26 is the anniversary of the day I said, “I do.”
Sometimes, it’s hard to imagine, but tomorrow marks 27 wonderful years of marriage. There have been plenty of good times, along with a few that were tough, but I’ve relished every day, and even on the lowest days, I’ve still felt so lucky.
So how do you celebrate your twenty-seventh wedding anniversary? I was checking to see what the recommended gift is. All of the lists I found shift to every five years after 10.
Apparently, a milestone that ends in anything other than a five or a zero is more of a mile marker.
Not in my book. I value every single one.
I observed another just last month.
Aug. 11 marked 11 years since I walked through the doors of WKSU.
As they say in Latin, tempus fugit. (That's "time flies" for those who didn't take Latin in school.)
Eleven years ago, I was working in the New York City metropolitan area. When I shared with colleagues my good news about WKSU, a few responded, “Ohio? Why are you moving to Ohio? Nothing ever happens there.”
A week after I accepted the job offer, Republicans announced they would hold their 2016 presidential convention in Cleveland. The week after that, LeBron announced he was returning to the Cavs.
Guess what? News happens everywhere, and all over Northeast Ohio.
And since WKSU became part of Ideastream Public Media three years ago, I help lead coverage of all of Northeast Ohio. I feel fortunate and humbled to be part of the region’s news ecosystem, along with all of the talented and driven journalists I’ve been lucky to work with during that time at WKSU and Ideastream.
There’s never a dull moment. The days are long, the job is challenging. But the daily work that goes into being a trusted source of news and information for 22 counties in Northeast Ohio is invigorating and rewarding.
This past week, I moderated a panel discussion on sustaining the arts in Akron and Summit County and what the arts means to the community. At the end, the three people who were part of our discussion, stakeholders in the arts community, thanked me for the conversation. So did a number of the people who attended. Of course I told them it was my pleasure. Helping to create conversations about issues important to our audiences is what we do.
These are tough times for public media in this country. But as I pass another mile marker of service in Northeast Ohio, milestones like this, helping to facilitate conversations that help remind everyone about the value journalism brings to our world, are what buoy me. That’s the best gift I can get for doing my job.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, even though the anniversary list doesn’t provide an option for 27 years of marriage, my wife and I still found a way to celebrate our milestone (yes, it's more than a mile marker) in style – we're considering it our "Elvis" anniversary.
We're attending the concert of one of our long-time favorites this weekend at the Akron Civic - Elvis Costello.
I happen to agree with his advice: "You better listen to the radio."
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