Editor’s Corner:
by John O’Brien, Jr.
Merry Christmas! Nollaig Shona! and other greetings of the season to you. As always, I am excited about Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
In a hazard of the news business, I wrote, edited, refined etc … this December issue, over the last three weeks, then watched from a distance as my laptop fell off the chair, and cracked the flash drive in which the whole issue resided. I didn’t even have to look to know he flash drive was gone, gone, gone.
In the Inbox, I searched out every email from every columnist lodged among the thousands; all the ads from advertisers; all the submissions of blurbs and events; date listings; and all the other pieces parts that are edited, stitched and molded into each issue, and dropped them back in their temporary monthly issue construction folders. Then I shut the auld laptop down for the night.
I didn’t sulk, or drink. I started mulling how far we have come in these twelve years, and the end of my first year as sole owner. For, I knew had the next day off. I am always grateful for our Veteran’s, their sacrifices and heroism, but this Veteran’s Day off, was an additional blessing, due to their selflessness. It gave me time to think back, knowing I had the next day to recreate what was created before.
The things we have seen in our sort of short time as the OhioIANews is disconcerting. When we started in 2006, I wrote most of the copy, filling sixteen pages with stories and ads each month. We built our company, and our stories from there. Now, we have twenty-two columnists and four support staff, producing between thirty-two and forty pages each month.
We have gone from a full office of desks, computers, copiers, printers; full off boxes, envelopes, ink, and of course, coffee, to now an evolution with a much smaller footprint. I carry my laptop and seek out great writing spots, for it is all I need. My office is where ever there is a great cup of coffee, and wi-fi.
Friends fill me with Barry’s when my road intersects with theirs. For I took the road less traveled, and that made all the difference.
Christmas columns abound in this issue, of course. Sue Mangan’s new but annual, A Tale for Christmas,column is always a highlight, and as wonderful as ever; new columnists Katie Gagne’s Cooking Up A Hooley in the Kitchenteaches us how to make Red, White & Green Christmas Potatoes, and Dottie Wenger’s Kid’s Craicfocuses on Christmas Craic for the kids; Bob Carney’s Speak Irishteaches us Irish words and poems of the season; Linda Burke’s Puzzle challenges us with Happy Christmas Carols; plus history, profiles, reviews, sports, introspection and opinion, and a few calls to action too are within, for it is the giving season, and the need is greater than ever to take care of Business:
Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.
The next morning, the reconstructions of the construction of the last issue of our 12thyear, began. I hope I got it all, I hope you love it all. In Thanksgiving, I thank God for the blessings of our veteran’s; of our freedoms; our columnists, contributors and advertisers; an extra day to take care of business; and most of all, for you, our readers.
Nuair a stadann an ceol, stadann an rinnce
(When the music stops, so does the dance)
John
“Follow me where I go, what I do and who I know;
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Milestone:

Congratulations to Eamonn & Nora Johnson on the birth of their baby John Patrick Morrison Johnson (aka Eóin Pádraig)!


Congratulations to Ohio Rose Erin Stefancin and Alex Taylor, who engaged on November 11th.