EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Arnold died Friday, Feb. 16, 2022. His obituary can be found here. He came back to Eagle Newspapers after he left the North Syracuse Central School District. It was hard for him to leave, and now it’s hard for all of us who knew and loved him to accept his death. Rest in peace, our dear friend.
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Boy, how many times have we read that over the last eight-an-a-half years, huh? Lots.
It isn’t even original, you know. Nah. Kurt Vonnegut. I admire him. Which is odd, really, because there aren’t too many people that I admire, met or not.
But I digress. How many times have we read that over the last eight-and-a-half years? Lots.
So Jim Arnold left the Star-News and they still got a paper out. Wow! And here he is writing a column that should have been done last week, his last column. Cue the violins, please!
I don’t especially mean to be flippant. It just seems to be working out that way. I don’t know what to say about leaving a job that has been my life for the past eight-and-a-half years; one of the best jobs around, by the way.
Except to say…it was time. I’m ready to accept the challenges that await me with the North Syracuse School District. I think I can do some good. I think I can help. I think I can make a difference.
And besides, the Star-News is in great hands. If it wasn’t for Maria Forastiero and her enthusiasm, her drive, and her unwillingness to leave me alone and be quiet once in a while, I probably would have written this column two years ago.
One of the reasons I didn’t have this column done last week when I supposed to, by the way, was because I was having a hard time avoiding cliches; it was difficult to take the bull by the horns, so to speak; fish or cut bait; sink or swim. But I seem to have it under control now.
Walking over to this typesetting machine which used to be in “my” office, I got my head stuck in a plant that wasn’t there when I left on Friday. Maria is quite a bit shorter than I am, you see; time to let go.
Of course it’s hard, even when you choose to end a relationship, of any kind, you can’t help but run a highlight film in your head. Well, I’ve done that and now I’m ready to begin my new highlight reel.
Thanks, all of you, it’s been great.
And so it goes.
