The walls around this office are filled with awards that Mike Brown is responsible for winning, but he’s no longer here and it already feels very strange even though he’s only been gone since last Friday.
I’m not sure how to act. I never had to remember anything because he always knew the answer to any question I had.
He’s been part of my life since 1974, the year of Rockdale’s Centennial. I remember him being like a crazy uncle or an older adopted brother who wore homemade clothes that his mom sewed for him, and his shirts and pants didn’t always match. And his hair back then, much like his brain, was kind of Albert Einstein-esque.
He taught me about astronomy which still fascinates me to this day. He brought telescopes to The Reporter and showed us all kinds of things in the sky.
His “punny” jokes always made me laugh and gave me a love of puns myself.
He was the glue around here that held everything together, and Dad’s righthand man.
I don’t know if Mike looked at my Dad as a father figure, but Dad certainly looked at Mike as another son.
Last year when Mike was in the hospital with kidney stones, Dad was the proverbial long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Even though Sue was keeping us all abreast of his recovery, Dad couldn’t rest, couldn’t sleep, until he knew Mike was home.
He drove past his house a million times to see if the missing car was finally back in the driveway.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dad more worried about anyone even though he’s had his share of worries. And of course, Mike was always there for Dad.
This is sounding more like a eulogy than a tribute. He’s still among the living. He’s only retired after 46 years of working here, in case I’ve misled anyone.
But it almost seems like a death to me and made me realize how much I will need to stay stepped up to the plate around here. But for that I’m thankful.
We are all going to miss you, Mike Brown. I hope the five of us can fill your enormous shoes and keep putting out the quality, award-winning newspaper you’ve made by your work ethic and just by being you.
Happy retirement, my friend. You’ve so earned it. And I can’t wait to see your photos from Hawaii.
—kwc—
As you can imagine we have lots of newspapers around our house and we like to recycle them. If you, too, belong to a recycling family you may have noticed that the recycling bin isn’t where it used to be behind city hall.
But don’t worry. It’s only about a block away from where it once was in the City Yard at 301 Mill Avenue.
—kwc—
I want to give a shout out to Bob and Geri Burnett and The Kay Theater who hosted our retirement party for Mike.
It was so nice and everything ran so smoothly. And Mike had a very good time which is all that mattered.
Such a nice venue for any special occasion and very reasonably priced.
And another shout out to Terri York-Sandoval with A Touch of Elegance Cakes and Catering. The food was delicious and there were so many good things to eat.
And thanks to all who came to wish Mike a happy retirement.
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