It's thick skin time in the blog biz

“There ain’t no good guy, there ain’t no bad guy.
There’s only you and me and we just disagree.”
— Dave Mason

Heard from someone the other day who reminded me of an adage popular among the 12-step crowd:

What other people think of me is none of my business.

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A buddy from Club Recovery asked me Wednesday afternoon. “Hey Mikey, you have any friends left? I’m calling to make sure you’re OK.”

Well, it certainly has been an eventful two weeks. We are hoarse from shouting our opinions. Things got rather cranky in a hurry.

A lot of fingers are pointing my way as being the cause of all this. While I certainly acknowledge my participation, it takes two to tango. I wouldn’t be writing about an issue if the issue didn’t exist.

That said, this one went from 0 to 60 in no time. It’s a hurricane with no warning. One day it was sunny and pleasant. Next, we’re battering the hatches as rain whips all around us.

The blog went through a weird evolution over this matter. I rarely am that critical of the County Commission. And rarely that blunt. I think, in general, commissioners do a pretty good job and I like to encourage it. Something about this deal flipped a switch.

Let me explain.

I’ve always been a reporter at heart. Even serving in editor roles at the Chronicle, I never left reporting. 

When I retired from newspapering and started the blog, I fell into the idea that somehow, I got a promotion. Reporter to Publisher. Big wheel now, you know. Hanging with the hot shots, just like my former bosses.

Well, that instilled in me a goal of broader viewpoints. The old Mike Wright was gone, the guy with sledgehammer Sunday stories. That wasn’t this blog. I’d leave that heavy lifting behind to the newspaper people and focus on the bigger picture.

Funny thing about that reporter gene. It never disappears. A week ago Monday, with a little information in front of me, it took 10 seconds to realize something was amiss. Reporter Mike shoved Publisher Mike off the chair, and we see the results.

The blogs may have shocked some people. I went from this “government geek with a sense of humor” guy to some hardcore journalist. Look, not bragging or anything. But I recognize a scorcher when I see it.

What I didn’t anticipate, and probably should have, was the immediate firestorm of outrage. On both sides of the argument. Outrage this happened. Outrage I told everyone about it.

So, the result of all that is a ton of opinions, which makes me think of that Dave Mason song. Let’s not lose our hats here, folks. I’m right there with you in getting to the bottom of it. I’m also of the belief that we have many important things to discuss. Let's not have the Summer of 491.

(By the way, I sure appreciate those who have reached out with notes or texts the last few days inquiring about my well-being. That is very kind of you. It’s all good! If you happen to like what I do here, I could always use the support. Links are at the bottom of each blog for individual donations, or message me for advertising rates.)

I’m exhausted. I’ve heard from many people this week who are, as well. As difficult as this is, it exposes a weakness in our structure. The only way out of it is to talk it through. That won't be easy. We'll eventually get there.

I realize I’ll be getting icy stares from some folks who used to hug me. I’m not happy about that. I prefer hugs. But I won’t let it affect the Just Wright Citrus mission of telling people things they should know and wouldn’t know if I didn’t tell them.

The blog comes first. It has to. 

Have a spectacular weekend, friends.

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