My retirement work is all play

Speaking with a friend recently, a person I’ve known for quite some time, and she made an interesting observation.

“More people know you now for your blog than from the Chronicle,” she told me. 

I was thinking about that the other day while wandering through the new Target totally on my own, taking photos of silly things (like today’s selfie with Bullseye, the Target mascot). Didn’t interview anyone, wasn’t looking for a press release, and left my reporter notepad at home.

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And again, Wednesday morning on the drive to Beverly Hills for the pickleball announcement. Knew I’d be a few minutes late, but that’s OK. Had to remind myself that no one is actually expecting me to show up, so it’s gravy if I do.

I mention all this because it’s reflection time. Three years ago this week I retired from the Chronicle, my career job, with no future plans.

I never talked much about that separation other than with a few friends. And I won’t get into the details now. Just know that Chronicle Publisher Trina Murphy showed me extraordinary grace for which I’ll always be grateful.

Three years later, I’m still getting used to the idea that I work for no one. I don’t have an editor giving me the stink eye if I decide on a Tuesday morning to watch the County Commission meeting from home. Or, not at all.

Even my work with Florida Politics (the DREAM job if not for the blog) is mostly self-directed. Publisher Peter Schorsch, the Gerry Mulligan of online media, rarely requests specific stories from me. I so much enjoy writing about Citrus County politics/government for Peter; he asks for anything and I’m right on it.

By the way, not sure if I ever told that story.

Like I said, there were no post-Chronicle plans. I didn’t even know where to start.

Then God showed up. As he’s wont to do.

A friend in my men’s prayer group told me that his son-in-law knew Peter Schorsch pretty well, and he could let him know I was available. If so, my friend said, would that interest me?

Are you kidding? I’d heard the Schorsch name for years. His media empire started with a single blog in St. Petersburg. He now runs the best political writer’s website in Florida. For the newspaper crowd, think Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, and Tallahassee Democrat all rolled into one. And MUCH better. 

Heck yeah, I’m interested. And extremely intimidated. I just spent 34 years at my hometown newspaper. Florida Politics seemed out of my league, frankly.

My friend sent me a text. “Peter Schorsch wants to talk to you. He’s looking for someone to write about Citrus County.”

I called Peter a few days later. Wow, was I nervous. I don’t think I’d ever been so nervous on a phone call. We had a great conversation. He got to the point (which, I’ve learned, is his deal) and offered me a correspondent position. Paid on a per-story basis for Citrus County Commission, local politics, and some statehouse stuff.

That also occurred three years ago. This week I’ve written five Primary advance stories, and I’ll be filing live on Tuesday night as part of Florida Politics’ impressive election coverage.

It’s a very cool gig at this stage of my career, and I’m extremely grateful to Peter for the privilege.

Another thought:

The blog allows me to do pretty much whatever I feel like at the moment. Last Friday a friend asked if I heard about the Waffle House coming to Homosassa. I said, yeah, I saw something about that. She suggested I post it. Maybe there’s some interest.

And…77,000 looks. Yikes. That pushed Just Wright Citrus across 6,500 Facebook followers, which I’m pretty happy about. When I wrote about my anniversary last year, we had just hit 4,500 followers. The blog grew over 40% in one year.

I’m not trying to stroke my ego. Something silly like Waffle House significantly bumps the follower list. That widens the net of folks who participate in conversations that move our community forward.

One more Friday thing…kind of unrelated…I’m looking to buy a harmonica. I play (badly) and I had them all around the old house, but now they’ve disappeared. The new Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters on the shores of Big Lake Henderson is perfect for my harmonica style because no one can hear it outside the porch.

I want to shop locally. Suggestions?

That’s it for today. Have a beautiful weekend, friends.

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