I’m the old new guy

By MIKE BOLLINGER

Hi! I’m the new guy. Or, maybe more accurately, the old new guy.

I’ll be helping with the editorial side of Johnston Now on a part-time basis after recently retiring after more than 30 years in the newspaper business. I have relocated to Johnston County and will be living in the Four Oaks area.

Randy and Shanna Capps, the owners of Johnston Now, are my best friends. We all met when Randy and I were working at a newspaper in Henderson. We hit it off immediately and have now been friends for more than 15 years.

We had talked about me working in some capacity for them, and when I decided I was going to retire in August, we talked and decided we should make it happen. I’m very lucky to have them as friends and glad to be able to help them with Johnston Now.

During my time in the newspaper business, I have worked as an editor, news editor, reporter and sports writer. Most recently, I spent 12 years at a small weekly newspaper working in Bath County in the mountains of Virginia.

Some winters, there is a lot of snow in Bath County. I am not a fan of snow, particularly of shoveling it. While I understand it generally doesn’t snow a lot in this area, I have a suspicion that the snow may decide to follow me down here. I hope I’m wrong, but given that Murphy’s Law tends to follow me around sometimes, I’d be on the lookout just to be on the safe side.

When I’m not working, I enjoy watching and playing tennis. I’m just getting back into playing after about two years off the court. I have never stopped watching. I watch a lot. Maybe too much. It has been suggested that I need an intervention. Tennis Channel is my friend.

If there’s no tennis to watch, I also like to watch most other sports, particularly baseball and soccer. As a native of Virginia, I’m a Virginia Cavaliers fan, although I’m not sure at this point how much fun they’re going to be to watch during football season.

So far, my new adventure is going well. I’ve lived in North Carolina before, but not in this area. I’ve been able to get around a little so far and people have been very nice and welcoming.

I’ll be contributing stories and future columns to Johnston Now. I’ll be looking for stories, so if you have any good ideas email me at mike@johnstonnow.com or call the office at 919-980-5522. You can also contact me if you want to play tennis, since I try and play a little in addition to watching.

Thanks in advance for reading and continuing to support the magazine.