Double the Lyons, double the fun

Lyons is the tallest guy (with the silver tie)

The Gazette seems to be having trouble adjusting to its new Wheaton-Takoma-Burtonsville-Silver Spring edition, which purports to cover all those areas. The newsstand edition I pulled out of a plastic bag at the Ben & Jerry's in downtown Silver Spring yesterday has not one, but two columns by Post-Newsweek CEO Chuck Lyons, who's been writing a column on a regular basis since he was the publisher of the Gazette during most of the '90s.

Lyons must have just attended the reunion of his high school graduating class of 1964, because he wrote about the early 1960s in an "edited commentary [that] was presented at a high school reunion in Owosso, Mich., this past weekend."

As he has done frequently throughout the years, Lyons steered clear of the local scene, opting instead for a trip down memory lane, exploring the somewhat overworked theme of young people growing up in the America of the early '60s. 

"We were optimistic. Our president, John F. Kennedy, said we were going to land a man on the moon. His wife, Jacquelyn [sic; it's Jacqueline], labeled our era the American Camelot, likening it to the legendary King Arthur's Court, defined as a place or time of idyllic happiness."

He looks back on those years with fondness and a humor that will be most appreciated by his classmates, but also probably by anyone who went to high school. Then again, Lyons is talking about high school in Owosso, Mich., which as he describes it was idyllic. Jobs were plentiful, patriotism and school spirit were the order of the day. It was "safe."
"The best moment was running out from underneath the cement bleachers of Willman Stadium onto the field before the game and jumping into a circle of blue and gold while the band played, "Go You Owosso," on a frosty Friday night in November. That was Americana," he writes.

Not sure if I'd say Americana, which suggests papers, documents, that type of thing. "America" would probably suffice. 

In any case, taking forever to get to the point, the Gazette liked Lyons' column so much they printed it twice -- on pages A-13 and A-15, where it takes up most of the space above the fold. 

I can understand that they can't find anything to write about in the area covered by the regional edition, which includes well over 100,000 people. But the column wasn't that good. 

If I ever get around to writing about my days at the Gazette, back in the '80s under Davis Lee Kennedy, Jim Hazel, Koko Wittenburg and then Jack Murphy, I'll discuss the way the paper gets put together. It can't be too much different than when I was there. They're still making the same mistakes. 


In the meantime, enjoy the tunes on my You Tube page,  entitled "Rock, Sir," in tribute to Mr. Kennedy, mentioned above (and shown below). The Dilk is now the editor/publisher of the Current newspapers, which are quite good and successful. DLK can be seen here uncropped, with D.C.  councilman Jack Evans and his wife at the CAG gala. (I'm guessing Creative Arts Guild but I don't know. just checked: It was the Citizens Association of Georgetown 2009 Gala)

Free Bird