The Circus Continues-Only in Another Tent

By Janice Lane Palko

Back when Saturday Night Live started, there was a skit called “The Thing that Wouldn’t Leave.” It was a spoof of horror movies and featured John Belushi as the “monster,” an overbearing, inconsiderate house guest who didn’t know when it was time to go home. He terrorized his hosts, Jane Curtin and Bill Murray, by making them stay up past their bedtime, watching long movies on their television, and making long distance phone calls on their home phone. They would shriek each time Belushi missed their clue that it was time for him to go.

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to leave, especially when you like the company you’re keeping as it is here with my job as editor. However, I turned 65 last month (I can’t believe that!), and I’ve decided to step down as the magazine’s Executive Editor. 

I started back in December 2005 and aside from four years doing other writing assignments, I’ve been here for two decades. 

When you start out writing, it’s so difficult to get a paying job in the field, and thanks to Marion Piotrowski, our Publisher Emeritus, she took me on and let me do my “dream job.” I’ve interviewed so many interesting people from sports stars to celebrities to just regular people doing extraordinary things. I’ve been allowed to put whatever has been on my mind on the page, and I’ve heard from many of you how much you enjoyed what I wrote, which was gratifying.

When I started, Laura Arnold, who is now at the helm of the magazine, was a recent college grad, and I was still in my forties, with my twins being freshmen in college. I remember when our sister magazine, Pittsburgh Fifty-Five Plus, launched, and I thought that it was for old people. Now Laura is in her forties and a mom, and I’m a grandma and the perfect demographic for the senior magazine! Time does fly.

The hardest part of stepping down is not being a part of the “team,” which includes my co-workers Mary Simpson and Paula Green. They are not only coworkers but friends. That also includes Tim Kostilnik, our graphic designer. 

You can’t see it on the pages of the magazine, but Marion and Laura are the nicest, kindest, upstanding people I’ve ever worked for. 

Needless to say, it’s with mixed emotions that I step down, but Laura and I have struck a deal, I’ll write a monthly column on senior issues, which will allow me to still be in touch with them and to write, which I love, while giving up the editing responsibilities.