TALKING TEXAN

This issue is the last one where the title, Editor, will follow the name Charles Melton, but that doesn’t mean a complete disappearance from the Bremerton Patriot. It merely means that after 335 days after returning to Bremerton after two years in Poulsbo, a new challenge awaits beginning Sunday afternoon.

That opportunity lies in the Kitsap Free Daily, which is published Monday through Friday, and it’s not the first time I’ve been behind the desk at a daily.

The last time was another lifetime ago as an eager, overly ambitious college grad took his place at the Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald and lasted all of three months before asking Uncle Sam for a quick trip out of town. It just so happened that the infamous George Wallace died on my last night behind that desk and subsequently ruined a pre-planned farewell party, but that’s the life of a daily.

Now a decade later with a loving, beautiful wife and a six-year-old son, who is every bit a Daddy’s boy, it should be a better fit as the wild, reckless 20-something has become a matured 30-something with a better head on his shoulders.

The past 11 months have been topsy turvy and quite a roller coaster ride at times, but they have been a dream come true overall as the saying, “You can never go home again,” didn’t ring true for once. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and the Christmas present has been 11 months at the helm of the Patriot.

With so many people to thank for making these past 11 months enjoyable, first and foremost, my wife Edna and our son CJ deserve more thanks than I can give for putting up with the craziness that came with the job. The unpredictable hours and the many times that I brought work home weren’t easy but they are my heart and soul.

H. Emily Moshay, who gave me my indoctrination into the world that is Bremerton during my first stint at the Patriot, has been and will always be a trusted friend. H. and I have been through the wars together and although we didn’t always agree on everything, she was my right hand. We’re going to miss you, H.

Wesley “Boy Wonder” Remmer, the best and the only hire I made as editor, really stepped up and has grown up before our very eyes and has a bright future ahead. He’ll be doing double duty covering two school districts, but I know he’s up to the task.

Bremerton has become home for this lost Texan and a special thanks goes out to everyone who believed in the chances that were taken and different things that were tried to make the Patriot a true community newspaper.

Last July many people didn’t know what the Patriot was, and looking back 11 months later, it’s my hope that more people know exactly who we are.

The Patriot has always been my baby in a sense, because it’s where a dormant journalism career got its rebirth, but as with children, there comes a time when you have to let them go. That time is now.

The task when I arrived on July 1, 2007 was to make things better and on that front, I confident saying, “Mike Alpha, mission accomplished.” Now with the Daily, it’s to take the words of my old 1st Sgt. Charles V. Hatcher to heart and “Charlie Mike, continue mission” as I move from the weekly realm back to the daily routine.

Over and out,

Charles