Paperwork: I’m tempted to join the shouting, but took another path

Mike made me laugh. At myself.

I was busy writing my column so we chatted only briefly on the phone.

Then my friend said, “Well, I will let you get back to it so you can raise some heck.” I laughed.

“Raise some heck!” I repeated, smiling at the thought. I told him I’d write that down for a future column. And so it begins ... me raising some heck.

Or not. Because I don’t raise much heck in this short brain spill I pour out each week. I do wonder if that is what some would prefer. After all, I am appearing in a NEWSpaper.

It’s taken a while for me to grow into this voice. It’s often personal, just me talking about what might seem to be silly things like campfires, pets, smelling memories and the little things you trip over or see differently as you get older.

This column is more a personal journal than a flaming sword hacking a path through the jungle of injustice and evil in the world. That is what anchored me in journalism. That fight for truth, justice and the American way.

I wanted to use words to make a difference and my holy grail was “THE TRUTH.” And it is a holy grail … as in a mythical, legendary treasure that holds great power that we all seek but somehow fail to grasp.

I lean into a keyboard each week with ideas scattered (literally) about my desk and think about the burning world. There is always a crisis flaming somewhere with people suffering and many dying. Sometimes hope seems so fragile.

Yes, I could write about the chaos every week. But so many others already do. The division in our country and our own communities is obvious. I come to accept it as a given.

Still … part of me wants to join the shouting and fist-waving and tell everyone how I feel about the issues of the day … even though I am not always certain myself. But I do not. I see little benefit in raising all that heck. What could I say that hasn’t been said too many times already?

So here I am. Dissecting my purpose. I don’t have any command over “the truth.” I don’t expect anything I write will change the world. But should I try? Was that part of the pledge I made with the mission of journalism? No, not really. At least not for me.

If I talk about truths they are simply observations that seem true to me. Just me.

I hope my words put a pause in the “rat race” and the heated debates – an invitation for you to break away from demands of the day and the clamor. Take some time to think about your own little world.

I seldom know exactly what I will be writing about. I surprise myself. That’s what happens when you start shuffling and dealing out thoughts and feelings.

I want you to feel that surprise, too. To have a moment in your day when you pause and find yourself listening – not to me – but to yourself.

Now … that’s the kind of heck I want to raise … in this world on fire.

• Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His Paperwork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com. Or mail The Times, 110 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, IL 61350.