The long goodbye

In March 2014 I wasn’t really looking for a job, but Jeffrey Savit (the Alliance president and CEO at the time) suggested I try taking on the editor role at the then Jewish Voice for a few months. The paper was without an editor, and I was freelancing as a copy editor for other companies, building my own business after 20 years of editing at the Providence Journal.

I’d say I’ve given it a good try. 

And 190 columns later, you are reading my last official column as editor. I am moving to a new stage of life. 

Retirement. 

This column has given me a chance to share my thoughts and my life with you although, at the beginning, I questioned if anyone really cared. I’ve written about my family, major life events, my backyard, the seasons, the weather, and I’ve tried to personalize the news.

I’ve also written columns about how to get the real news in this era of increasing social media and decreasing news media. I’ve also advocated for a more civil discourse. I’m hoping I’ve had an impact on the way you look at news in general and, perhaps, the way you talk to your neighbor. We are all on the same team after all. We all want a strong and vibrant Jewish community, and we all want the freedom to discuss what that would look like. And we all need to be able to judge what is truth in the media and what is not.

It has been a satisfying job because I felt I was playing an important role in bringing together and informing the Jewish community here. The paper is part of the fabric of our community. It connected me with my faith and this community like never before. But it has been frustrating as well. With dwindling resources, I’ve often felt we were not doing enough. There are so many stories I wanted to write that I could never find the time to create.

I’m not altogether sure what retirement is going to look like for me, but it is safe to say that it is going to be a little less deadline-oriented and a little more relaxed. 

I’ve been kicking around the idea of retiring for a while. Last week, I celebrated a milestone birthday. And while I marvel at the numbers and how they really don’t speak to how I feel and (mostly) how I act, I have a growing list of things I want to do that I can’t seem to shoehorn between the newspaper’s deadlines.

Will I be bored? Maybe. I know a colleague who unretired after trying retirement. And he writes about how this has become a thing among people who retire.

I have children and grandchildren with whom I hope to spend more time. There is a long list of house projects just waiting for me. I love editing and journalism, so I will likely continue to work in some limited capacity yet to be determined.

Will I move to a warmer clime? Not a chance. I still want to be able to complain about the street not being plowed and the icy roads. But I won’t miss trying to park on Elmgrove Avenue after a snowstorm.

People have asked where I’m going. I’m not going anywhere. I’d like to travel a little. As editor, I’ve planned my vacations around the cycle of the paper. It would be nice to not have to do that. But my husband will continue to run his very busy business, so we will still experience limits that many couples face when planning travels. They just won’t be quite as rigid as having one of us being the sole manager of a monthly publication.

So, I’ll be staying in this community that has been my home for close to 39 years, and I hope we will run into each other every so often. Perhaps I’ll even write a few stories I never got a chance to tackle in the busy days of producing a newspaper.

I wanted to list everyone who has helped me over the years, but the list would be too long, and I feared I would leave out people. So, I’ll try to handle those thank yous in person.

Know that it takes a village to put out a community newspaper, and a lot of people have contributed to the paper that you read on a regular basis.

I will always be grateful to my colleagues and the leadership of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island who support this endeavor and believe a community paper is important.

For a number of years, the paper has been a part of the marketing and communications team at the Alliance. Each member of that team contributes to the paper, from design to social media and writing. I’m grateful for the help and the support that makes the paper stronger and more available to Rhode Island readers.

To those who have served as copy editors and proofreaders: THANK YOU! If you know me, you know how I value editing. Since 2014, we have had a half dozen absolutely top-notch community members who took on the challenge of helping edit the articles that go into the paper.

You wouldn’t get news from around the state without contributors who meet deadlines and consistently contribute to make the paper what it is. And they don’t seem to mind when my deadline nudge is anything but subtle.

To the team that has led our advertising sales efforts over my 12-year tenure, I really appreciate what you contributed. Ad sales is certainly not my forte, but our ad sales reps have helped keep the paper going with their contributions selling our story to local businesses. Theirs is not an easy job.

I can’t say enough about our advertisers, too. Many have stuck with the paper through name changes, publishing changes, good times and not-so-good times. They believe in the importance of Jewish journalism, and they support the role this paper plays in our community. I hope you will continue to support them when you have a need for their services.

But I owe the biggest thank you to my family. They have provided fodder for columns, stood behind me through deadline rants, offered opinions on coverage and content and kept me going when writer’s block set in. Everyone should be this fortunate to have a caring supportive family. I look forward to spending more time with all of them.

Fran Ostendorf

Editor