They say all good things must come to an end.
Pompeii.
The “Die Hard” films.
Gluten.
And after today, this weekly humor column. For 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of being a part of more than 30 community newspapers around the country, sharing a laugh or two (sometimes three, if I was really on my game) with folks each week, from Boca Raton, Fla., to Watsonville, Calif., and Tempe., Ariz., to Marietta, Ga.
I’ve learned a few things from the last two decades of being a part of your communities, particularly about all the things that bring us together rather than divide us. For example, our shared belief that Kenny Rogers is one plastic surgery away from becoming a truly frightening Halloween mask. Or not understanding how we have become more afraid of gluten than … well, Kenny Rogers. Or that apes taking over the world will eventually happen because, without opposable thumbs, they can’t become addicted to iPhones. And that our government should have a Secretary of Bacon.
OK, maybe that’s just me.
But the most important thing I’ve learned over the years is that humor is a language everyone understands and, in most cases, can agree on. In today’s world, it’s easy to forget the many common, everyday experiences that, while making us uniquely human, are things we all share in our daily lives that unite us. Over the past 20 years I’ve experienced divorce, re-marriage, the challenges of being a father to four teenagers, successes and failures in my personal life as well as my professional life — all things that aren’t particularly unique to me but that I tried to view and share through the lens of humor. And not counting my teenagers, the rest of us had a good laugh together as we shared in the common experiences of being human.
As this chapter of my writing career comes to an end, I am moving on to the editorship of two small community newspapers — in a sense coming full circle back to my journalism roots. Coincidentally, just as marijuana has become legal here in Oregon.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for allowing me the privilege of, in a small way, being a part of your communities each week for so many years. Your letters and emails have meant a lot, and I will always appreciate your taking the time to write them. Even when they arrived inside of — or wrapped around — loaves of fruitcake.
Thank you again, and if you’re ever in Florence, Ore., please stop in. I still have fruitcake.

Write to Ned at [email protected], or c/o the Siuslaw News, 148 Maple St., Florence, Ore., 97439