2021: The longest year ever
One memory of 1/6
The Front Page
Morning Update
Friday, December 31, 2021
By Ken Tingley
Retirement has been a transformative event for me.
It started with two book projects after I retired in 2020, then led to a third on baseball (still looking for a publisher) and research on a fourth (my parents love story). In between, I’ve discovered my voice again for column writing.
I started this newsletter - The Front Page - on Feb. 15 with a column titled, “Time to get back in the game.”
I wasn’t sure what to write about or whether anyone would read it, but I knew I wanted to write. Over this first year, I have written more columns than in any one year for The Post-Star. I’ve written about movies, covered the Adirondack Film Festival, weighed in on the Cambridge mascot, the Fort Edward school merger and the shocking inability of so many to get vaccinated in our local community.
I’ve updated folks on Joe Girard III’s progress at Syracuse University and begged local people to continue to support local journalism.
I’ve watched as Rep. Elise Stefanik’s power has grown nationally and diminished locally while encouraging the national polarization to occur locally. And sadly, she has succeeded.
I read Lake George Mayor Robert Blais’s book - I learned a lot about the village and lake’s history - and former Post-Star sportswriter Jim Tracy’s book on serial killer Robert Garrow. If you haven’t read it, you should.
I revealed my passion for penguins with a tour of the penguin exhibit at San Antonio Sea World. Actually, I’m still watching the penguin-cam almost daily.
I spent a lovely hour with Adirondack Film Festival’s new leader sharing ideas and a beer, checked out the Chapman exhibit on Glens Falls’ movie palaces, had lunch with former state senator Roy McDonald and told anyone who would listen that the best movie of the year, “My Octopus Teacher,” was a documentary that would touch their heart. I think it is still on Netflix.
I’ve spoken at senior centers throughout the region and had a couple of book signings where I got to meet many of you.
I talked to local coach Pete Puricelli about his hobby of collecting Major League Baseball parks, remembered Bill Wetherbee as one of the pillars of our community and called out the Warren County sheriff when he hired his son in a blatant show of nepotism.
Not bad for a pandemic.
I still think there is a need for what I do. I still think there is a need for community journalism and I begged all of you to support those efforts in the weeks, months and years ahead.
In many ways, 2021 was the longest year in my memory and it appears we still have significant challenges ahead. But for now, as long as you are willing to read my commentary, I’lll keep the words coming.
Happy New Year. We need a better one in 2022.
Nice to have boy home
It was shocking to my wife and I that our son had not been home in a year (since last Christmas.
He has been home for the past eight days and we’ve picked up right were we left off with discussions about the pandemic, politics and movies. We are one, big happy family again - at least for a few days.
Joseph has been working in San Antonio, Texas for the past year for the National Park Service. All those people who rolled their eyes when he told them he was majoring in history in college will be glad to know, they pay him for explaining history now.
We both made a trip over to the Chapman Museum one morning to check out the local history. The woman recognized my name from my years at the newspaper. But she also recognized Joseph’s name because he was a regular subject of my columns.
Unfortunately, we have to take him to the airport this morning. We’re hoping our trip to the Wood Theater tonight for the comedy show will improve our mood. At least for a little bit.
Remember this
Rep. Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat, did an in-depth interview with Haley Byrd-Wilt of The Dispatch newsletter last week for the anniversary of 1/6. This one passage stuck out with me:
Dan Kildee: For sure. With my wife, with my kids, with my mom, who's 87, I've had conversations with them and it's inevitable that the question comes up like, ‘Well, do you really want to keep doing this?’ And I do. But sadly, I don't look at the place the way I used to. This mob and the people who are now trying to rationalize this event, they've taken something away from all of us that it will take a long time to get back. And that is the belief in the sanctity of the institutions of our democracy.
Tweet of the Day
ian bremmer @ianbremmer
where death rates increased AFTER vaccines were available… https://t.co/hyULDmxTHZ
Nice end of year article! May 2022 be a better one. As it was we were blessed to have Biden.
Thanks for staying in the game. I appreciate your input. I am sure being liberated from the direction newspapers have gone in their attempts to stay alive must help. I hope the best for the new year as well but I must admit that I am not very optimistic. It appears too many have chosen paths that divide communities rather than bring us together. Everything has been politicized and polarized from masks and vaccines to what should and shouldn’t be taught in schools. Yesterday saw over 600,000 new Covid cases. Who knows what the new year will bring with this; especially since we are told that every new case brings the potential for a new variant. One thing is for sure: if we don’t begin to care for each other better than we have recently, we are still in trouble.