MARK BLISS: Mark My Words: Some final thoughts

It's hard to say goodbye.

After 32 years spanning four decades, I am retiring the day before Thanksgiving. It's a fitting time.

I am truly thankful for the opportunities I have had as a reporter at the Southeast Missourian.

I began working at the newspaper in the spring of 1979, within a month or two after the blizzard buried Cape Girardeau.

I spent 28 years covering a myriad of beats, including crime, courts and city council.

After an eight-year stint in marketing at a local hospital, I returned to the paper in November 2015.

I felt right at home again.

My true passion has always been print journalism.

I've enjoyed the opportunity to help write daily the first draft of community life, covering the events and the people who have shaped this city and the Southeast Missouri region.

I've covered politicians and principals, criminals and cops.

Over the years, I have covered three sitting presidents who visited Cape Girardeau: Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

I've sat through countless Cape Girardeau City Council meetings dating back to the days of Mayor Howard Tooke.

As a reporter, I covered the high and mighty. But I have gained the most satisfaction from giving a voice to the less fortunate among us.

As a journalist, I am proud of the investigative pieces I have reported, dealing with everything from unsolved murders to corrupt law enforcement officers.

I have written my share of features too. One of my favorites was one about a man who collected thousands of antique spark plugs. Who knew spark plugs could be a hobby?

Longtime readers remember I used to write a column, "Mark My Words."

I wrote the column for 13 years.

Many of those humor columns were devoted to writing about my daughters, Becca and Bailey.

As a result of those columns, many readers felt they knew them. They would chat with me about my family when they saw me at the grocery store or somewhere else in town. I loved those conversations.

When Becca was a toddler, she was great at asking, "Why?" In one of my columns I reported that she asked why all candy wasn't purple. I didn't have a ready answer.

As a journalist, I admire the art of questioning. Over the years, I have posed my share of questions. But none of my questions were as entertaining.

When Bailey was in elementary school, she regularly came home from school with rocks she collected off the playground. One day she even came home with a chunk of concrete in her backpack.

I wrote about her love of rocks in one of my columns.

A short time later, I received a letter from a reader who also possessed a love of rocks. Included with the note was a well-worn rock she had picked up along the shores of Lake Michigan.

My career has spanned the age of the typewriter and the age of the computer.

During my tenure, the Southeast Missourian moved from film photography to digital photography.

Years ago, reporters often took photos and, in some cases, like myself, processed the rolls of film in a darkroom.

When I started, the legendary John Blue was still the editor and Thomson newspaper chain owned the paper.

Back then, it was an afternoon newspaper.

Gary Rust, whose Bulletin Journal newspaper proved a successful competitor, bought the Southeast Missourian in 1986.

The Rust family has been instrumental in my career. I thank them for their commitment to local journalism.

A graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, back in the days before cellphones, I have embraced this community from day one.

I have written about both the good and the bad in Cape Girardeau, but I have always been proud of the people of this community who strive daily to make this a better place, whether at school, city hall or in the workplace.

I love the written word and its ability to inspire us.

Reporters don't write in a vacuum. We write for our readers.

Thank you, the readers, for accompanying me on this journey. Your well wishes are truly appreciated.

As all writers know, chapters end.

The good news is a new chapter will begin. I look forward to the telling.

Mark Bliss is a senior reporter covering government and politics for the Southeast Missourian. Today is his final day in the office.