"A Farewell"

"A Farewell"

by Fred Reed

"I have been writing this column, off and on, mostly on, for–dear God, can it be nearly thirty years? Yet nothing lasts forever, neither columns nor columnists, and "Fred on Everything," for unexpected reasons with which i will not bore the reader, has reached its end.

Columnizing is a curious trade. I suppose that from time to time most in it ask themselves, why am I doing this? It is not from vanity or the desire to see one’s name in print. At the age of twenty, a new writer thinks that if only he can be published in the next most important outlet, he will be happy and fulfilled. At thirty, he thinks, oh hell, its deadline, what can I write and how can I make it seem fresh and interesting when almost every subject has been written about thousands of times by thousands of writers also on deadline?

I suspect that few columnists think that their output will accomplish anything. People seldom change their minds. Most likely we are just bellowing at the universe to behave itself. It doesn’t.

Unlike many in our ashen trade, I have been fortunate in not having an editor to tell me what to write and not being constrained to specialize. “Fred on Everything” may sound pompous but it is not restrictive. Thus i could write about anything from the military-industrial complex to being a barefoot-and-BB gun-toting Tom Sawyer simulacrum in small-town Alabama to robots and the realities of Mexico. This has been fun for me and, apparently, for a certain kind of reader.

But not to most. What most readers want is to be told over and over what they already believe, preferably in combative prose. Most columnists and websites do exactly this. I could never do it, perhaps because of some psychic defect. Or maybe I am just bull-headed. The result has been that readers have been few by internet standards but, at least in my judgement, a superior and versatile sort who can disagree without huffing-and-deleting. I regard them–you– as fellow conspirators against the expected, the tedious, and the ordinary. It has been fun. I thank you for the years."

Ciao,

Fred

- https://fredoneverything.org/a-farewelll/

A Comments: Thank you, Fred, for the many excellent commentaries over the years, it's been an honor and a privilege to share them with readers of this blog. This "Farewell" resonates so powerfully within me, too, as I look back at the past 16 years of this blog, over 90,000 posts I found interesting and informative, and have often wondered, as you say, "Why am I doing this? It is not from vanity or the desire to see one’s name in print." No, not from vanity, it was never about me, and I've never shared details of my personal life or fully written opinions, which I could have done so easily many, many times, preferring to post the writings of far better minds than mine. And it was certainly never about the money, I never sold anything, never allowed ads, or made a single penny, ever. As Fred said, "Maybe I am just bull-headed. The result has been that readers have been few by internet standards but, at least in my judgement, a superior and versatile sort who can disagree without huffing-and-deleting. I regard them–you–as fellow conspirators against the expected, the tedious, and the ordinary." That's how I've always viewed readers of this blog, and I, too, want to thank you the readers for the years we've spent together. If it made even one person's life a little better it was all worth it. It's not yet my time to say goodbye, but wanted to express how deeply what Fred wrote struck me personally. God speed, Fred...

- CP