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Editor's Desk

Letter from Washington

by Judi McLeodFebruary 28 - March 14, 2000

Every once in a long while, word comes from a longlost friend that both charges my batteries and feeds my soul. Such was the case with the arrival of a cream coloured envelope, postmarked Washington, D.C. The envelope contained a note from Danielle Frum (nee Crittenden), journalist and author of the book What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us.

In a column about the book, I had written about my recollections of our days together at the Toronto Sun, how we had once been caught pulling faces at the top brass through the sixth floor windows.

..."Did we really make faces at the sixth floor?!," Dani asked. "I'd forgotten that. I haven't forgotten, though, the first day you arrived at The Sun, and I was so thrilled to meet the courageous journalist I'd read all about (and turning to the city desk and saying sarcastically, 'It's about time you hired her!'"

In my column I had written that Dani was, and still is, an inspiration to me.

"It is you who remains an inspiration to me, reminding me of what true perserverance is--and verve and humour in the face of sour, harsh critics. I love seeing your newspaper around the streets of Toronto when I visit, and picking it up, and seeing your leaning, bold face atop a great scoop, same as ever."

The letter from Washington was read aloud in the office, and it was not only myself who was shedding a few tears upon reading its contents.

Behind every perceived inspiration is the less obvious one who really makes it all possible. In the case of Toronto Free Press, it's an unsung hero by the name of Brian Thompson. At this newspaper more than eight years now, Brian's an inspiration of the best kind--an everyday, through thick or thin one.

At 37 years of age, Brian was raised out east and west as an "army brat".

Born in France, but 100% Canuck, Brian's parents did a wonderful job with him and his siblings.

Young as he is, Brian was raised in that old-fashioned world where things like honesty, loyalty, hard work and commonsense still mattered. His late father may not be here, but everything he taught Brian still is.

In those long ago days when he applied to TFP, then Our Toronto, he displayed a lot of patience. Although I had already told him we were looking for a sales manager, it still took him a couple of months to just catch up with me.

Sales proved not to be Brian's main forte, but he was already a computer whiz in the making.

When trying to get our website up and running, more experienced people in the business failed us. One night while the rest of us went home, Brian took himself off to World's Biggest, bought a book and stayed up all night learning how to create a website, which still exists to this day.

On another occasion, when we were all trying to learn pagination, the self-taught Brian came up with an idea to get TFP delivered electronically to its Welland printer. Although no one believed in the idea at the time, Brian saved TFP and other small newspapers thousands of dollars.

The guys in Welland had to first call and explain before anyone around the paper remembered to thank Brian.

Because I am known from my past as a journalist with a variety of better-known newspapers, I get all the credit for TFP.

When some friends I hadn't got around to seeing for the past couple of years, met me for Sunday brunch a few weeks ago, one of them told me how proud he was of me.

"You're the only person I know publishing her own newspaper. It takes courage to do that, making you a hero in my eyes."

But the real hero was not sitting there relaxing after wonderful crepes at the Papillion. The real hero was back at the paper working on laying out pages.

There would, of course, be no Toronto Free Press without the remarkable loyalty and infinite patience of Mr. Brian Thompson.

When I was younger I used to say that heaven by day was a small cottage with a fireplace and a little dog where you could hear the waves pounding the shore; that heaven by night was a front row seat at the movies, complete with popcorn and Kevin Costner sitting there with you holding your hand.

Even with all that, it wouldn't really be quite heaven without the nearby presence of an unsung hero by the name of Brian Thompson.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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