Long lost brother

The face of the man walking into the Capital Press lobby was familiar. I stopped for a second, not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not. But sure enough, the man walking in the front door was indeed familiar.

The last time I saw him was in the lobby of another newspaper office in another Oregon city. That time, more than a dozen years ago, was in Coos Bay.

Ed Fournier and I went to college together at Oregon State. We were fraternity brothers. In fact I was his Big Brother in our house, Pi Kappa Phi.

I haven't been such a good Big Brother in the years since and Ed and I have lost touch, much as I have lost touch with my Big Brother, another Ed — Ed Redmond.

Ed was here on business to talk to our general manager, Mike O'Brien, and he had a business associate with him, so we didn't get a great deal of time to talk. But we had enough time to swap business cards and get caught up a little on the years that have passed in between our last meeting.

The one thing I have always loved about working in newspapers, is you never can predict what each day will bring. The news of the day can change your plans and your routine. I will definitely chalk today up as a "good news day" due to an unplanned meeting of an old friend in the front lobby.

Thanks for stopping by, Ed ,and taking some time out of your busy day to say hello.