I was amazed by how fast days flew by when I first started working as a journalist. Seemed it was Monday, then Friday. Where did the work week go?
Soon decades were flying by — and suddenly I find I’ve been an Advocate reporter for 33 years. When did that happen?
On Friday, I finally stepped off the local news track to early-retire from the job. But not without a bittersweet look back at a very fulfilling, purpose-driven career that was also incredibly immersive.
Since I tended to get so embroiled in my stories, I used to set an egg timer on my desk to go off at 3 p.m. so I would remember to pick up my youngest kid from elementary school. The secretary had called several times to say my poor daughter was still waiting. (I’m sure eye rolling was involved.)
Perhaps the best thing about reporting was getting to glimpse a thousands lives lived. What a remarkable gift that has been!
Whenever I interviewed Second World War veterans about their experiences on D-Day, or seniors on their 100th birthdays, it was like touching history.
Writing many awareness-raising articles helped highlight past and present injustices. My understanding about trauma was broadened after interviewing Indigenous residential school survivors, domestic abuse victims, discriminated-against LGBTQ people, and homeless or addicted folks.
Let me tell you, it’s hard to pass judgment on someone once you’ve shaken their hand, sat down with them and listened to their story.
In my early days at the Advocate in the 1990s, reporters were frequently sent out of the office and into the region.
I was once memorably tasked with trying to find white supremacist Terry Long while he was wanted on a province-wide warrant for a cross-burning in east-central Alberta. I drove into his ominous-looking wooded compound with a photographer, but we saw no Long.
I was later informed he had come into the Advocate to place a classified ad that week but no one had told the newsroom!
Another time I accompanied the (now late great) environmentalist Martha Kostuch in her canoe down a shallow waterway to catch the environment minister's cows pooping in the river. That minister vowed to never speak to me again — and didn’t.
I discovered how entrenched are the voting habits of some Albertans when I was sent to question citizens about an upcoming provincial election. A woman blamed then-Conservative premier Ralph Klein for shutting down a rural nursing home and indirectly hastening her mother's death.
Who would she vote for, I asked. "Why, Klein, what other choice is there?" she told me.
Some interviewees still haunt me, including a developmentally disabled former Michener Centre resident who was living in squalor at a downtown hotel, and a couch-surfing teen who would rather stay with strangers than her own mother, whom she described as uncaring.
The cardinal reporter rule of not getting personally involved was put to the test.
There were some tough stories. Past murders resurface whenever I drive down certain streets in Red Deer. And I remember breaking into tears after attending a fatality inquest for a nine-year old Maskwacis boy who committed suicide.
But there were also many fun and uplifting stories. One of my most thrilling interviews, as a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, was with a central Albertan who happened to be visiting New Zealand when he was sized up and deemed to be the right size to fit some movie costumes. He appeared as a Man of Gondor and Orc in The Lord of the Rings films. (I had to be talked down from the high!)
Celebrity interviews — from Leonard Cohen to Gord Downie, to Mr. Dress-Up — taught me that famous people aren't that different than you and me. Ok, maybe a few are a little kookier.
I got a great deal of fulfillment from reporting on the local arts scene. While reviewing Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up act and covering Elton John's Red Deer concert was a blast, many local performances were equally memorable.
I can recall the emotionally devastating finale of Ignition Theatre's My Name is Rachel Corrie, for instance. Or the breathtaking first Red Deer College production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat — which had gymnasts doing standing back flips on stage.
Our city crackled with creative energy just over a decade ago. I counted seven theatre groups in the city. Local arts and culture are now hard-hit by Red Deer’s slack economy, and diminished by the closure of the Red Deer Polytechnic's music, film acting and theatre programs.
But we still have many remarkably talented artists, musicians and actors here. If we don't appreciate them, we will lose them to other centres and life will be so much poorer.
Before heading off into ‘civilian life’ (now I get to sign petitions! Attend protests!) I want to thank everyone who called in with a news tip or trusted me to tell their story.
It was a real privilege to work for our readers.
While media staff is tighter now than when I started, and reporters are more desk-bound, there was rarely a day when I didn't learn something new, meet an interesting person, or stretch my storytelling skills.
Journalism is still the best job I know of.
I appreciate everyone who reads and supports the Advocate because the truth is not a matter of opinion. We need independent news media because democracy depends on having an informed populace.
I hope to see you all at the local galleries, concert venues and theatres. Please say ‘hi.’
