Thank You, Brian

There are not enough Thanksgiving holidays to express the gratitude I feel for the people who have helped me in many ways, both small and large -- all significant -- throughout my life and career. Today, I'm thinking about Brian. Forty years ago, when the small weekly newspaper I worked for closed, he reached out, not to me initially, but to the woman who would soon become my boss. A few weeks earlier, I'd interviewed Brian for a small story that appeared in a small newspaper. When he learned I was out of a job, he called the editor of the rival paper and said (paraphrasing from forty-year-old memories), "You need to hire this guy." Then he called me, gave me the editor's phone number, and said, "Call her, now." I did and I got the job as a sports writer. It led to a position as a feature writer, then interim managing editor. These jobs were a springboard for my return to college to earn my master's degree. Thankful today and every day for all the Brians in the world.