A quick review

I understand that this column is now being seen in the Schleswig Leader. Actually, I think it’s been running there for several weeks now. In the event that this has been at all confusing or even just a novelty- I’d like to clear up any misunderstandings this has led to and answer any possible questions that it might have raised.

First of all, I’m not Mike. I assume that you in Schleswig would know that but at least once a reader of the Charter Oak-Ute NEWspaper mistakenly thought that I was the editor. Definitely not. As Schleswigites know, the Lyon family started ‘the Leader’ then expansions and purchases led them to Mapleton and ‘the PRESS.’ Mike Lyon is the publisher.

Mike & Barb Lyon are good people. They’ve always been very kind and generous with me. Back in the summer of 2002 I managed to talk them in to hiring me for the summer and at the end I submitted an essay called “What I did on my summer vacation,” as perhaps the first installment of a weekly column for the Charter Oak & Ute paper.

The closest thing I think Mike has to an Editor, besides himself would have to be Bonnie Schroeder. When I submitted my first column, she said “We should have been doing this all summer.” She’s always been sweet to me too.

I thought for a long time about what to name this feature. I wanted to call it “Sex, Politics and Religion,” because wanted to be able to write about the things that we often avoid talking about. My hope was that I’d make readers think and get people talking about something other than just the weather.
But I was afraid that such a maverick title would scare readers off, so I just went with “Ted’s Column.” Generic, but safe. I figured it would also give me the freedom to not have to take myself too seriously all the time. Part of me hoped to become the small town Iowa version of Dave Berry.

So who the heck am I and how do I get off writing a weekly column in (now) two small town newspapers if I’m not Mike or Bonnie?

I’m Ted. I live in Charter Oak. I teach Art, Newspaper, Yearbook, computer Graphics, and coach Cheerleading down in Dunlap at Boyer Valley. Yeah, I’m a straight, married, middle-aged guy who coaches cheerleading- but that’s a whole ‘nother column.

I’m originally from the red, red state of Arizona. I was the Editor of my high school newspaper and dreamt of being either a syndicated columnist or an editorial cartoonist. I got my BSEd from Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. I majored in History and in Art. Seward is where I fell in love with the Midwest and with my wife Bethany, a Neddermeyer from Charter Oak, who’s now a guidance counselor at Maple Valley in Mapleton.

So that’s who I am, but where am I coming from?

Sex: That’s not something I think we should talk about in polite company.
Politics: I always thought of my self as a moderate, pro-worker, pro-farming, lower-middle class traditional kind of guy, but dang, our country has really swung about as far to the right as it can lately, hasn’t it? Some people accuse me of leaning to the left, that may be so, but it’s only because I feel like the boat is a bout to capsize and I need a sense of balance, not because I want to shake the boat for shaking sake. I apologize in advance if I ever set you off, I’m a firm believer in agreeing to disagree but continuing to talk to each other. But like I said, my hope is to make you think and get you talking- better yet, write a letter to the Editor (Mike or Bonnie, not me).

Religion: By definition, this is what is the most important thing in anyone’s life, so it’s pretty difficult for me to not write about it. But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:9).

I went to Concordia because it’s a Christian college. I wrestled with whether or not to become a pastor and Beth and I taught for 7 years at a Christian school in Los Angeles. I’ve been the Youth Counselor at St. John in Charter Oak since we moved back. So, you can expect some faith issues in this column from time to time.
I’m sure that it drives some people batty that anyone can be a Missouri Synod Lutheran and a registered Democrat at the same time. I figure, Jesus was a radical, barefoot, long haired, unemployed, homeless guy who bucked the establishment and loved, accepted, spent time with, forgave, and was even willing to die for everyone and anyone no matter who they were. I’m pretty tame by comparison.

Somehow the good Lord and Mike saw fit to hire me again this summer, so who knows, even though Schleswig is really Bonnie’s beat, maybe I’ll get to meet some of you and try to sell you an ad. Even if I don’t I hope that you’ll keep reading and I hope you enjoy what you read most of the time.

The rest of the time, I hope you’ll send your letters to Bonnie so we can publish them, after all this is YOUR newspaper. The best way to keep it that way is to participate in it by contributing. Have a great summer.