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Andrew Skerritt: What a memorable adventure this job has been
In print: Friday, May 2, 2008
A columnist's memories: Clockwise from top left, a tour of the Green Swamp, 90-year-old barber Jack Crawford, Pillsbury bake-off, manatees, William Thornton IV and milking cows at the Hernando County Fair.
This is my final column for the St. Petersburg Times.
I've had the distinct pleasure of spending the last 21/2 years traveling the length and breadth of Hernando and Pasco counties, meeting some of the most extraordinary people and hearing some of the most fascinating stories that provided fodder for three columns a week.
I had the best seat in the house watching Jack Crawford, the 90-year-old barber who is still cutting hair six days a week in Trilacoochee. (When I stopped by to see him a few weeks ago, his hair was jet black and he was still on his feet). I swam with manatees in Crystal River, milked cows at the Hernando County Fair, toured the Cross Bar Ranch and the wild Green Swamp, rode an airboat in the Gulf of Mexico and visited the Brooksville kitchen of a Pillsbury bake-off contestant as she made her mojo black bean chicken pizza recipe. Mostly, it didn't feel like work.
But being a columnist also carries special responsibility — to speak up when things aren't right, to decry injustice. As in the case of William Thornton IV, the teenager who got a raw deal when in 2005 Judge Ric Howard sentenced him to 30 years in prison for killing two people in a car accident in Citrus County. Law students in Jacksonville are working with lawyers in Citrus to overturn Thornton's sentence. The wheels of injustice turn slowly, but I look forward to soon reading the good news.
Not that good news has been in short supply. One highlight of this job was seeing people respond to a genuine need. A column about Lacoochee Elementary students needing help for their trip to the Kennedy Space Center last year got the phones ringing. A column about the need for computers at a west Pasco group home got a similar response.
But writing a column isn't all business. Sometimes it's very personal. Readers connect with the snippets from my life — acknowledging the 10th birthday of a lost son, almost losing my left thumb on a mitre saw, getting a $200 ticket for speeding in a school zone. I also shared stories about the growth of my two children — my son getting his driver's license and the accompanying parental anxiety. It has been far less stressful tracking my daughter's journey, from her pre-K graduation to her reading the newspaper comics as we drive to school each morning.
Most of all, though, being a columnist has been about relationships — getting to know people beyond their value for a good quote or a juicy tip. The best stories, the more heartfelt issues, emerge from those casual encounters we call real life.
The newspaper business is undergoing a difficult transition, but I believe there will always be an appetite for those stories.
[Last modified: May 04, 2008 12:34 PM]
Comments on this article
by Tom
May 4, 2008 12:34 PM
... to be quite capable of standing on its own merits, without respect to whatever someone else brought to the table. At least Marilyn reads (or appears to) both papers. If only we could multiply her locally by about 1 million.
by Tom
May 4, 2008 12:34 PM
Poor Andrew. Not only is he abuptly shown the door, dear Marilyn takes the occasion to damn him with faint praise -- he's a class act, but only compared to his schlub counterpart at the Pasco Trib. As that counterpart, I found Andrew&#
by lesley
May 4, 2008 11:52 AM
Mike, the job of a reporter is to hold accountable public figures. imagine all the stuff we wouldn't know had the media not spoken up when something was unjust.
by Ed
May 2, 2008 10:14 PM
I wish it was Bowen and not you who is leaving. You have always been an honest journalist. You are old school and will be missed. Good Luck and God Bless.
by Pat
May 2, 2008 10:08 PM
As a faithful reader of your columns,sure will miss the quality of your writing. Much luck to you! Buena Suerte!
by Mike
May 2, 2008 9:58 PM
Herein lies the problem with the times. This reporter feeles that it is his job to 'speak up when things aren't right and decry injustice'.
That is NOT the job of a reporter.
REPORTERS REPORT THE NEWS THEY DON'T MAKE IT!
by Sharon
May 2, 2008 9:57 PM
Andrew: This story hurts! Thank you for all the enjoyable reads. This wall has a way around it; years from now someone will mention how you impacted them. The next stop is waiting for you. Be well.
by JULIE
May 2, 2008 9:52 PM
So where is he going-and why? I will miss the articles that he wrote about.Good luck...
by mari
May 2, 2008 9:51 PM
I will miss you! I have read you daily on-line and have enjoyed your style and freshness. Thanks and good luck!
by Zeb
May 2, 2008 2:31 PM
Andrew; You thanks for your fairness in your writings . Hope you do not become jaded as some of you fellow journalists at the Times have become . Many have become outstanding journalist after leaving that environment ! God be with you !
by Marilynn
May 2, 2008 2:25 PM
Andrew's column will be missed. Compared to the Pasco Trib's columnist, Andrew is a class act. He's thoughtful, insightful and a pleasure to read. My heart is sad to know that I've just read his last column. I wish him the best
by Michelle
May 2, 2008 2:22 PM
I enjoyed your writing and will miss it!
Good luck to you!
by Jennifer
May 2, 2008 2:21 PM
Andrew - it's been a pleasure. The Pasco Times will be less without you.
by SJ
May 2, 2008 2:10 PM
Andrew: I've read and re-read your articles and certainly enjoyed your talented writing and reporting skills. Sorry you are leaving. Best to you.
by Dorothy
May 2, 2008 2:09 PM
Tho, I am only a snowbird, I have looked forward to your columns, even looking on line for them while in NY. I wish you well in your future endeavors. Take time to smell the roses, Andrew!
by Chris
May 2, 2008 2:07 PM
The last two lines says it all "The newspaper business is undergoing a difficult transition" Let's hope that Andrew Skerritt left the Times because he received a better job offer elsewhere. If he was "dumped" then its a dif
by Doreen
May 2, 2008 2:06 PM
Thanks for all of your hard "work", it's been our pleasure. Good luck & God bless you.
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