By MATTHEW NASH
Local Columnist
NEW ALBANY —
Last summer I got this crazy idea into my head. Usually when I get a crazy idea into my head I just wait a few minutes and then it passes. This time I wasn’t able to shake my head hard enough to forget the crazy idea and I actually did something about it this time. I decided to try my hand at writing this weekly column.
Every week for the past year I have written this column. It has been a fun and sometimes challenging commitment and also a learning experience. I have been able to write about things I enjoy and I have been able to enjoy a few things that I didn’t before by looking at them from a different perspective. I have been able to entertain a few people and I have also gotten under a few people’s skin.
Before I was even selected as a local columnist, I had several ideas for columns. It was a list of about 10 things that I could write about that made up a few of the first columns. I wasn’t sure what I would do when I got to the end of that list since 10 items only would last about three months. I was trying to make a lasting commitment to doing this so I was going to need some more ideas and angles. Enter the New Albany city council.
Each time I would wonder where my next column would come from the council would convene and usually give me weeks worth of new material. Every first Monday and third Thursday New Albany’s answer to “The Jerry Springer Show” never fails to disappoint. I am sure with the city elections next year it will only get worse.
Sometimes I grow tired of the city council’s antics so I try to write things that I enjoy personally. As long-time readers know, I really enjoy going out for a bike ride. I had hoped that by now New Albany would have some kind of comprehensive bike plan. In one of my early columns I wrote that it should be considered with all the new street paving that was planned. Connecting the Ohio River Greenway Projects with routes throughout New Albany is the next logical step. I see more and more people out riding bikes for recreation and for transportation and I hope that our local leaders will understand what an impact this could have on our city.
Other local projects I would like to see get off the ground I have also written columns about this year. One of my very first columns was about a new swimming pool in Floyd County. For the third year in a row our county has been without a public swimming pool. It is probably too late to get anything accomplished for next year. The mayor has claimed that a new municipal swimming pool is a priority, but without the support of county leaders I believe that it is impossible. I guess I will keep traveling to Clarksville whenever I take my family swimming.
Of all the columns I have written, the hardest one to write was one I wrote about my oldest son. He left for a mission trip last year on Labor Day and will not return until next year. Just before he left I gave him a heartfelt goodbye. I am very proud of the young man that he has become and I look forward to when I will be able to see him again.
One of the most controversial columns that I have written was my opinion piece on the next David Camm trial. I didn’t realize how polarizing of a topic it actually was until it was published. I got more responses about that column than any other. It seems that everyone around has a passionate opinion on his guilt or innocence. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the third jury decides.
I have heard from many people since I starting writing this column. Some of them send me personal e-mails telling me what they think of my column. Others leave anonymous comments on the online version of the paper or on local blogs. I have been called names and even had my mental health questioned. I have said in the past that these critics have the same opportunity to write a column as I do, the only requirement that the publisher has is that they put their actual name on it.
I do have one anonymous fan that gets a kick out of writing comments on some of my columns. His nonsensical responses have been an interesting source of amusement, to say the least. He usually signs his name as a fictional character from pop culture. I look forward to reading his comments when they appear and I tip my hat to Andy Dufresne, wherever you are.
I have had a great time this past year writing this column. I hope I have made a positive impact on my community, and I want to continue to do so in the future. I hope that you will continue reading and keep those comments coming. I hope that I can continue writing this column for many years to come.
Matthew Nash’s weekly column is only one year old and he is already not looking forward to the terrible two’s. He can be reached at dmatthewnash@gmail.com
