Welcome Back, Jay!

The Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C. November, 2011

Priscille and I have been getting the print edition of the Courier News delivered ever since I can remember, probably since the very first year that we moved to Bridgewater 35 years ago.  I like newspapers.  Always did.  Sorry to see them immersed in such a hang-on-for-dear-life struggle to survive as the Internet captures readers.  

I once considered dropping our subscription a number of years ago – didn’t think that there was enough of the stuff that I like to read about, but Pris wouldn’t let me.  It’s the only way that I can get a handle on what’s happening around here, she told me.  
So we kept it going.  I’m glad.  She was right.  There are still some features and stories in the print edition that you won’t see in the online version.

I’ve also developed a habit of regularly reading certain columnists, even though there aren’t too many of them featured anymore, and even though I don’t always agree with what they write about.

Jay Jefferson Cooke is one of those.  I can’t find a single adjective to describe him and his writing.  I think this is a good sign – it’s indicative of a complex personality and of one which may not be so easily categorized.  


He writes with an edge. He often uses language that some of us can’t easily decipher. He can be informative.  He can be pleasant. He can be compelling.  He can be disagreeable.  He can be strong; he can be weak.  He can be insulting at times.  And he can be infuriating.

He lays it out for all the world to see.  No guessing about where he stands at any particular moment.  Simply a genuine expression of the soul.  It’s all a part of his humanity.  

Over breakfast about seven days or so ago, I commented to Pris that we hadn’t seen his articles in the C/N lately, so I followed up by checking www.myCentralJersey.com   under opinion >columnists only to discover an absence of his columns.  

I was on the verge of making a call or sending an e-mail to see what his status might be, when Bingo! his column re-appeared in yesterday’s paper.

If you haven’t already done so, you should read it.  

The ten bullet items which he lays down on paper not only mirror the human condition, but reflect a mature understanding of life and its difficulties.  

He mentions his love for friends and family, and especially for his parents – “The Old Man and Nay-Nay.”  It’s a sign that he knows where to put his priorities.  I hope that everyone who attended the party had a magnificent time celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary; and, I’m glad that you decided to keep the ball in play, Jay.

Thanks for reading.  Be safe this weekend.  Spring will be here before you can blink twice.