New Beginning

Not sure if you've heard by now, but my column-writing career is kaput. Like most of the newspaper industry (and many other industries these days), GateHouse Media is having major financial problems and it was determined that the one sure way to solve them was to eliminate my $4.6 million salary. So I'm gone ... and the company is saved!!

I had a great run and am looking forward to whatever I'm going to do with my life. I'm determined not to feel sorry for myself or to be bitter about what happened. My wife has a stable job with great benefits and my kids are older; we'll be making Katie's final tuition payment in March. We even have managed to stash a few bucks away over the years - though those few bucks are considerably fewer than they were six months ago.

What I'm getting at is that a whole lot of people are worse off than I am, so I'm grateful for what I have.

I will miss writing the column and, mostly, the many relationships I have forged with other journalists and with readers. Glad at least the latter can continue with The Baldest Truth.

Anyway, the blog site you've come to know and love will have a decidedly different look. I'm going as basic as basic can be for a bit until I figure out exactly what I want to do with it. As you might imagine, I have a few other priorities right now, including figuring out whether to have gruel or mud for dinner tonight.

So stick with me and check back soon. I promise I'll be back up and running.

There won't be any comments section, at least for awhile, so if you want to make a point about anything, my e-mail address is the same:
mikenadel@sbcglobal.net.

Cheers!
Mike