Then the Express closed its doors in May. Our publisher, who was also a shareholder in the company, came through the door about 8:30 a.m. on a Friday morning, and made a beeline to my office. I asked him how he was and he said, “not good.” In his next sentence, he said the paper was closing.

And just like that, I was unemployed.

It’s a strange feeling, being 64 years old and suddenly having no place to go. I might have worked at the Express for the rest of my life, whatever that number turns out to be.

Yet there is a side of me that feels a sense of relief to be leaving the daily grind. One paper would go to press on Friday and the next one would begin on Monday. We put out about 400 Express newspapers in eight years. I wrote columns in approximately 375 of them. I didn’t realize I had inflicted so much pain on so many readers until I stopped and thought about it.

I didn’t properly get to say goodbye in the final edition of the Express. Finding out first thing in the morning and still having a paper to finish put all of us in automatic-pilot mode. I wrote a short piece that day for the front page. I don’t remember much about it, but it came from my heart.

I was staring at a number of blank pages after the announcement that day. The last piece I wrote was about the Saskatchewan Rattlers basketball team.

The seven of us at the Express had pizza together at lunch. We shared some memories and some tears were shed.

We had a paper to finish and we did it quite well under the circumstances. We would settle for no less from ourselves, and readers deserved our best – right to the end.

At the end of the day, we handed in our keys to the building.

Over the years, I have known many people who have lost their jobs, and have had to do a reboot. Many are/were happier in their next careers. Sadly, many others weren’t.

I have been told numerous times that as one door closes another opens. One person said when a door opens another opens halfway. I plan on opening it all the way. I have digressed from the point of this column. Sometimes I sit down and don’t know where the column is going. I haven’t written a word since the Express closed. It feels good to pound on a keyboard again.

It is a pleasure to get to write the introduction to this magazine. Previous editions of the Seniors Guide have resonated with readers and have worked for our advertisers. Talk about a marriage made in heaven.

This magazine includes stories and photos, as well as lists and directories galore. It’s the type of product that can sit on your phone table for the months between this edition and the next one.

-Cam Hutchinson