I’ve been here right at seven months now, the first half as a contractor as I was running an unsuccessful and ill-advised campaign for office in Warren County and the second half as your full-time editor here at the Smithville Review.

Not to suck up to you or nothing, but I really like it here. I have my own office and my own bathroom, the latter of which might could use a good scrubbing since I don’t think it’s been cleaned since Bush was in office – the first one. The folks are nice here and it’s a pleasant little community with plenty of news and events to keep me busy.

With that being said, there may come a time when my present column name becomes antiquated. When I came up with the title “That New Guy” I’ve got to admit I didn’t know if I’d be staying. Actually, I thought I’d win the election but as we all know, that didn’t happen as I simply found a novel way to burn a few thousand bucks and have nothing to show for it.

So, my question is, since I plan on staying, when does my column name become outdated? After a year, two years or five? Some folks say I’m from here anyway.
“You talk like folks do here and act like them too,” Barbara Ann, our executive assistant here tells me. “So, you’re from here.”

For years and years I wrote a column called “Taking a Stand” when I worked at the newspaper to our south. It wasn’t exactly a humor piece like I generally right today. Actually, it was quite the opposite. It was an opinionated, muckraking, hard-hitting column dealing with politics and controversial matters that tended to stir up the masses. I look back on some of my old columns now and can hardly believe that was me being so judge-y about other people.

However, after 15 years of writing my scathing column I actually sat down and read what I was writing, trying to pick out stuff to enter in the newspaper contest. I went through week after week, reading the same old drivel and then I suddenly realized something – my column stunk. It was practically unreadable and a rehash of the same old stuff week in and week out. I had to change.

So, like a smoker throwing the half-full Marlboro pack away, I decided to go cold turkey on the political and ideological mess and I’d try something new – humor. I’m a funny guy. And, sure enough, it caught on. I was so different that the editor there even changed my column name without telling me, changing it to “Family Man,” since I wrote so much about the funny things my kids do. The sad part is it took me over a month to realize the title over my column had changed.

To read my stuff now you’d never think I was such a jerk back in the day. It’s refreshing to get to write happy stuff. There’s already enough bad stuff going on without having to read more on the editorial page.

Contact Duane Sherrill at           
news@smithvillereview.com