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Show THE SIGNPOST OiDiiiiQii A Romance, intrigue, adventure: living The Signpost experience By Paul B. Johnson Managing editor of The Sgnpost It's nearly over now. I lift the miniscule piece of chalkand scrape another mark across the brick. The action is much more ritualistic now than practical, born more of habit than of purpose, as this is the last mark and I no longer need to keep track of how many issues we have left. This will be the final Signpost for me. After two long years, I have finally been paroled.Somehow it doesn't seem real. It is the realization of a dream, of a day long distant that I feared would never come. I had thought it would be a time of all-consuming joy, of dancing sunlight and fragrant flowers and ripe papayas beneath a tropical palm tree surrounded by serenading hula-girls, but surprisingly my heart is heavy. For reasons that remain elusive, I know I will miss this place. Perhaps it is the warm bonds of friendship I have formed with the staff members I have come to regard not only as co-workers, but as family. & try. Well, on second thought, maybe not a "family," per se, but more like a bunch of people who I have grown to like a lot. All right, maybe I don't like some of them very much, but for the most part, I definitely really like most of them. Well, maybe not most of them, and "really like" might be a little strong, but I guess we're all pretty much a family around here some of the time, but not a rea close family by the strictest of definitions. I must say, however, that there's hardly a person on the staff that 1 haven't learned something from and as a result grown to be a better person. Except maybe Alan, but then you'd have to know him to understand what I mean. Come to think of it, I didn't learn much from Lorin, either ... or Necia, but, this is no time for pettiness. Suffice it to say that for the most part I learned something from practically everyone on the staff, except of course those certain people I mentioned earlier, along with a half dozen or so others. Perhaps, then, I'll miss this place because of the experience I have gained through tireless endeavors that promises prosperity in a growing, burgeoning profession with limitless opportunities. Though now I complain about The Signpost's low wages, at least I receive a paycheck, which is something I'll probably really miss once I graduate and try to land a permanent job. But I have never been one to wax pessimistic. Instead, I find myself reminiscing of the veritable plethora of memories I will carry with me. I still remember the first news story I submitted, my fists clenched and teeth chattering as I struggled to appear cool and confident, submitting shreds of my soul on paper for what I feared to be merciless surgery under the editor's knife. My ego emerged somewhat intact, and I kept submitting those stories until eventually I landed myself an editorshipat the hands of an editor-in-chief who was desper- We'd swig cheap whiskey and croon favorite showtanes as the air filled with the sweet aroma of good times and roasting flesh. ately trying to fill staff positions. Thus my sentence was pronounced.In the years to come I grew used to a diet of stale pizza and Coke in attempted sustenance to allow me to work away into the late night hours. There were frantic times, full of bug-eyed terror and the profanity-speckled wails of tortured souls clenched between the merciless vice we call the deadline. We hunched over our computers beneath the radiant glow of fluorescent light as the slits in the wall we called windows mocked us with its slivers of beckoning sunshine. We sacrificed our social lives and GPAs for a greater good, assembling a newspaper for you to spill your coffee on three times a week. 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Eventually someone else from in the building would alert the authorities, and we'd dash out to the parking lot, usually among a volley of gunfire, to go home and sleep off our drunkenness in preparation for the next publication day. Yes, I suppose I will miss this place for many reasons. I have worked alongside many memorable people, gained some experience that helped me become a better writer (aside from this column) and enjoyed good times I doubt I'll forget unless, of course, the shock treatments are successful. 393-5933 or 476-0452 Rental Space Available: Two full-size dance studios Rooms for music & drama instruction Conference rooms & kitchen Great for clubs, meetings & special events J BELOW IS A COMPLETE LIST OF EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GETTING A STUDENT LOAN. W goldenwe: c R e d i t u i o n "The Sun Never Sets on Our Service" Call or Stop by Today 621-4550 |