Losing an Old Friend

I learned to read so I could read the sports pages of the Atlanta Constitution and find out what the Atlanta Crackers had done the night before.

That's where I discovered Furman Bisher. Early on, I decided he had a great job and even then I knew he could write better than the other guys. I'd see him climb to the press box at Ponce de Leon Park in Atlanta and I knew then that one day I'd be up there too. When Bisher moved to the afternoon Journal, I begged my family to take both papers so I wouldn't miss his columns. I knew all the writers' names. I'd see them on a Sunday TV show where reporters talked about the games they had seen on Saturday afternoon and wished I had been there too. I didn't have to be. Those reporters were my eyes and ears.

That was a long time ago. More than half a century has passed. Eventually I did climb up to that press box at Ponce de Leon Park. I covered a semi-pro football game for the Atlanta Times just so I could sit up there. Later on, I was a member of the Constitution sports staff, working with the guys I used to read.

Through it all, I've read the Atlanta newspapers. They been part of my day, even after moving to Columbus 34 years ago. Bisher is still there too, in his late 80s and still turning out prose. He's a hero of mine. When I grow up I want to be like Furman.

It feels strange that this is the last week I'll be able to put coins in a slot and buy a copy of the AJC. Modern realities have made them rethink the trucks that deliver papers to Muscogee County and other parts of Georgia. It's a fact of life, but one that hits me in the gut. Another newspaper pays my bills, but the AJC has always been there, like an old friend.

I sat in Barnes & Noble Sunday reading the Sunday AJC. In 50 years, we haven't missed many Sundays together. I remember the first time I had a story on the front page of that Sunday sports section. I remember my first byline on a college football game: Memphis State at Ole Miss with Archie Manning at quarterback. I remember many things that were important in my life.

This Sunday, I'll enjoy a cup of coffee with the AJC for the final time here at home. I'll think about Furman Bisher, Jim Minter, Mickey McCarthy, Hal Hayes, Jesse Outlar, Charlie Roberts, Terry Kay, Bill Clark, Lee Walburn, Bill Robinson, John Logue and all the bylines that became friends and colleagues.

I'm gonna miss them.