In the belly of the whale

I’ve been thinking for weeks about what I wanted to say here in my first editor’s note, and now that it’s time, all the really good ideas have flown straight out of my head. Instead, there are snippets of thoughts, phrases that have bounced around in my mind as possible good opening lines: “Into the flood again,” from the Alice in Chains song, or Shakespeare’s oft-quoted line, “Once more, into the breach,” or there’s always “Call me Ishmael,” a joke so internal and self-referential that I’m sure I’m the only person who gets it.

At any rate, I guess I’ll tell you what I want this space to become. I want it to be a place where you and I connect, where I can tell you what’s happening this week in the paper, where I can let you into my head a little bit—with expectations that sometimes you’ll let me into yours. I’m going to go light on whining and self-righteous indignation. But then again, who knows? I expect that this space will evolve with the paper.

Frankly, though, I hope the paper doesn’t change too much. I like a lot of what Deidre Pike did as editor, and it’s a whale of a challenge just to maintain the fair-mindedness, diversity of stories and editorial quality that she brought to these pages. Still, there are times when her idea of fun and my idea of fun diverge. It doesn’t hurt that alongside her teaching and family duties, she’s still going to write for me.

Finally, I want readers to know that I’m always available to hear criticisms and ideas (and sometimes, I hope, compliments). Anyway, once more and for the record, my physical address is 708 N. Center St. My phone number is 324-4440 ext. 3525. My e-mail address is brianb@newsreview.com. Maybe next week, when the pressure’s off, I’ll be able to write something intelligent.