Okay, so last week we celebrated 48 years of somewhat married bliss.

Try to imagine that Wife Patti and myself not only have been married that long, but for most of our married life have been working together, side-by- side seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Our home office, which is a 15x15 foot-second bedroom has our desks about six feet apart. We breathe the same air, hear every word and breath, along with snide remarks, (some dog farts that seem to encompass the room)and occasional loud disagreements.

For the most part, our three dogs are under foot, or desk, and the cats meander in and out of our office throughout the day. If I leave my seat for any period of time, Janie, the female, smaller cat will occupy my chair until I physically remove her to another chair within the office.

We rarely play music in the office and often leave TV news channels on in the accompanying rooms, either as background noise, or interest in what reaches our news brains.

There are three phones in the small office and when the phone alerts us of incoming calls, I casually glance up and proclaim "It’s a Patti call" and continue on my quest to complete the day’s work. Almost all the calls are classified as "Patti calls".

Yes, we have a phone in the living room for those off times when we are relaxing, but Wife Patti wants to curtail off-time calls to no later that 8-9 p.m.

Yes, we get calls on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and usual off-time holidays. She/We begrudgingly answers most of them.

Thursday is a tough day as we prep for deadline day on Friday.

Time passes quickly as last minute stories erupt, last minute interviews are completed and legal notices, obituaries seem to stream in. We are bombarded with last minute begging to get in
"one more notice".

I must be done with my pages by 11 a.m., but often stretch with pressing calls and stories. By noon, Wife Patti begins to panic as the 3:15 print deadline approaches.

We have a very tight window, as the print facility in Albany must receive our electronically-forwarded pages to be plated. They, in turn, have a very tight window when the Times of Wayne County hits their press. There simply is no time to miss a deadline.

The papers are printed within an hour+, the mail labeling crews take their time to label and sort the issues by zip codes and towns. The bundles are packaged and sent out to the docks for truck pick-up and delivery. 

Usually by 3 a.m. the truck pulls into our driveway and the papers are unloaded and the mail makes its way to the Newark Post Office. This has to be completed so the Times can then be shipped to the Rochester distribution center in Henrietta, before being shipped back to Wayne County and numerous destinations around the state and country (Hopefully).

In the old days we used to ensure Wayne and several Monroe County post offices were delivered directly by us, but the U.S. Post Office in all their wisdom, decided they could do it more efficiently.  Like clockwork, our 6:45 a.m. our delivery guys and gals hit the roads for newsstand deliveries, usually wrapping up the process by 10:45 a.m. on Saturday.

The other day I heard a commercial from Channel 8 WROC, boasting they have been in broadcast business for 75 years. I thought to myself, geeps, we have been in the Times publishing for about half of that time. Time has a funny way of passing way too quickly.

I am writing this column on Monday, days ahead of when I usually do so. I guess I just want time to pass a bit easier.,..this week.

By the way, as time flies by...I have decided it is time to turn more work towards Devin and his wife, Christy. In two weeks the pages will be realigned in sections and he will be responsible for producing more of the pages and content.

Yes, I am getting old. I will, for now, keep this column,  Law & Order and several other pages.

We have also added some new comics and a "Ask the Vet" on the  Pets & Critters page. Check them out.