Don’t tell anyone, but I miss our old sports guy.
By old, I mean he was the only one left there who’d been there longer than I had. I’ve been at the paper for 28 years if that tells you how old he is.
I used to tell people we were like an old married couple.
Our desks were next to each other with a short divider wall between us. He could hear me munching on snacks, and I could smell cigarettes when he returned from smoke breaks. And, of course, we complained about each other’s vices.
He called me Tipper Gore. I called him Rush Limbaugh. That’s all I’m going to say about our political leanings and how those conversations went. They usually ended with him walking away for a smoke break.
And I complained about the tobacco smell when he returned.
Other than our clattering keyboards, we had very little in common … Until he and Astrid got married. I called her “Sweet Astrid” for taking him in.
Their children and mine were about the same age, which gave us more in common.
But he was still Rush, and I was still Tipper. It was a good thing that short wall was between us.
We got along in the way siblings might tolerate each other. We had to; we were family — our work family.
There was a mutual understanding that he’d never have to write a County Board story and I’d never have to cover a football game.
Nobody would have wanted to read that.
So, when the sports stories came through with “By John Rittenhouse” at the top, it generally meant the information was solid, scores were accurate, athletes’ names were spelled correctly and event highlights were relatively accounted for.
I took it for granted. I took him for granted. (Not that I’d ever admit it out loud)
Then, one day, COVID-19 happened.
High school sports came to a grinding halt, along with everything else. And Rittenhouse looked around and said, “I guess my work here is through.”
And he left.
I didn’t really miss him at first, because he was right. There were no local sports to cover.
I didn’t even miss the tobacco smell or the annoying political remarks, because neither one of us was there. I had transitioned to working at home, like most of Main Street.
But as the vaccine became available and workers returned to work and students returned to school, sporting events resumed.
Our part-time new sports guy liked his job but followed his wife to Portland, Oregon. (I hope it wasn’t the munching at my desk that drove him away.)
I now officially miss our old sports guy. Who’s happily retired, and last I heard, doesn’t miss us at all.
Meanwhile, dear readers, we hope you’re enjoying our coaches, parents, school staff and others who are filling in with stories and photos until we find a full-time sports person at the Star Herald.
We think they’re doing a phenomenal job. Our readers might not even miss our old sports guy, but I do. (Just don’t tell him.)