Editor’s Perspective
IT’S
TIME
No
doubt in your lifetime you’ve spoken that phrase or had it spoken to you by someone else or the voice in your head. It might have been when your mom told you the school bus was coming down the street and you headed out to the end of the driveway for your very first day of school. It could have been when the coach told you that you were up next in your initial Little League baseball game. Maybe it was right before you decided to retaliate against the bully who’d made your life hell for the last month. Could it have been in college when you decided to switch majors? Maybe it was when you’d had enough of the dream job you really couldn’t stand anymore. Or when you made the decision to finally quit the habit you’d known for so long wasn’t good for you. Maybe it prompted you to take that much deserved vacation after waaayyy too many hours at work. Or pushed you to finally get involved in an organization you knew needed your time and energy. For some, it was uttered during an awful time. Every time I replay “Saving Private Ryan” I think about the men on those landing craft waiting to face the hell of German machine gun fire and almost certain death. Many times, it’s before a gut-wrenching decision like putting down a long faithful animal companion, or worse, putting an elderly parent suffering from Alzheimer’s into a facility. And tragically for some, it’s the moment when they decide there is no way out. But also, it precedes some really joyful times in life. How about when you were standing in the vestibule at the church with your minister right before the wedding ceremony? If you have offspring, no doubt you heard it from your spouse before that frantic trip to the hospital. And in a flash, it pops up again when you’re walking that offspring down the aisle for her wedding. Maybe it’s as simple as waking up on Christmas morning as a kid and rushing downstairs to the tree with your sister. Or standing on a mountaintop in Colorado with your buddies, anticipating the first run of the day. The one thing all these moments have in common is a leaving of something old and beginning something new. Many times, the old is comfortable, safe. It is difficult to give up. Yet you know it should be done. This is where I find myself today.
10 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL May/June 2021 www.vaturf.org
Mark Vaughn, CGCS Virginia Turfgrass Journal Editor
For the last 25+ years or so, I have been involved with this publication. At first, it was just a little blurb for the “Around the Commonwealth” section of what was a very sparse few page foldable publication of the VTC. It eventually evolved into a longer column of ramblings with the editor moniker attached to it. As I have said many times, I was and am no more of an editor than an Olympic swimmer. The good folks at Leading Edge have made this magazine happen for years, and under the guidance of talented individuals like Liz Nutter (God rest her soul) and our current editor/magician Julie Holt have continued to deliver timely and quality information to our membership every other month. As with most decisions to get involved with a group/organization, you start out with the idea of what “I” have to contribute. As the years go by, you realize you’ve received more than you could ever give. I will forever be grateful to Dr. David Chalmers for prodding me to take a chance and say “it’s time” all those years ago. I’ve met many folks from Virginia and beyond that I would have never crossed paths with otherwise. Maybe because my ugly mug was at the top of the column, many strangers approached me like we were friends. You’ll never realize what those kind words meant to a guy from a part of the state many see as an afterthought. So yes, like my literary heroes Mike Royko and Jack McClenahan, the moment has come for me to again say “it’s time.” As stated above, the VTC Journal will not miss a beat. And no, I’m not retiring, or dying. Well, yes I am eventually, but not in the very near future so far as I know. And look around you. There’s plenty of folks with plenty to say and plenty of ways to say it. Is that a good thing? I’ll let you decide. I admit I’ll miss the perks of the job, such as the HUGE, REALLY HUGE salary and the VTC jet. And of course, the VTC time machine which made the annual predictions column like shooting fish in a barrel. I’d say something cheesy in closing, like “be nice to each other,” but that’s already the case in this great industry. So, I guess I’ll end with what Curly Bill told Wyatt Earp: well…..bye.
Mark Vaughn, CGCS
