A NOTE WRITTEN SATURDAY NIGHT (Aug. 1, his last day in the job) by (now retired, after 17 great years) PDN Executive Editor Rex Wilson (and we’ll miss him!) to his colleagues, friends and associates:
It’s surreal to say that I’m retired from the newspaper business as of tonight after schlepping out so many stories and so many pages for all these years (yep, that photo shows the kid in April 1965 as a cub reporter in the newsroom of the El Monte (Calif.) Herald; note the ashtray on the desk — no, it wasn’t mine).
[TWO PHOTOS: Rex in 1965, and Rex and his wife, Olga, today.]
To all the wonderful colleagues and friends present and past, words cannot express my gratitude and my honor in working with you and for our readers. And to John and the rest of the Peninsula Daily News folks, thanks for a Thursday night sendoff that I’ll never forget.
Before the next adventure in Guadalajara [Mexico] as a lingerie baron with Olga and God knows what else (please come and visit; not only is it one of the safest and most fascinating cities in North America, but visiting will automatically earn you a free thong from Murua Intimates), my final musing is this:
Regardless of the platform, whether print, TV, radio or the Internet, we still need and will always need journalism — you know, the inverted-pyramid stuff that tells the story succinctly and accurately with ethics, passion, objectivity and concern for the truth. Continue to give a damn about the news, OK? I certainly will.
Hasta luego, mis amigos, amigas y compadres. I love you all.
REX (now officially a recovering journalist)
P.S.: My email is rexwilson7@aol.com. Visit Murua Intimates for the address.
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