Every one of us is a storyteller

It probably comes as no surprise that I spend a lot of my time in a car, driving to and from games, meetings and events. I do my best to keep my car clean, but clutter is just a fact of life when you’re a humble, local reporter.

A lot of times I’ll be driving back from some game or event and I won’t see another car for miles. But have you noticed how sometimes it’s just you and a car behind or ahead of you? I wonder why that is?

You can be on a long, winding country road and it’s just you and the other person in the car behind you. I think about what set of circumstances led this person to be out on the road so late, or in bad weather.

I think the same thing when I pass a car, or a car passes me. So often in our lives we’re caught up in our own story, seldom realizing just how many people are the main character in their own lives.

We see a person in a car, but have you ever stopped and wondered what their life is like? What brings them out on the road and what journeys and things and experiences they have encountered and done.

Each one of us, in our own way, is a storyteller. Each day we build on the story of our lives, adding a new memory or new moment that sits adrift in time, never to be repeated.

When you think like that it makes time something to be enjoyed and savored. After all, it can go by in a blink. Just last week I ran a story about the Midnight Riders, a snowmobiling and trail grooming club based in Dorchester. It’s been going strong since 1970, and several charter members are still going strong, guys like Tom Reynolds who, at 91 years of age, still has a firm grip.

I’m sure he’ll tell you the time goes by swiftly. That’s the best part about working for a newspaper. I get to capture these moments and celebrations and stories, like the proverbial fly in amber. And someday, maybe decades from now, someone will look up these stories, read these columns and wonder who I was.

This column is always fun for me to write. No matter what I’m going through it allows me to have a springboard to project my thoughts onto the wider world. It’s also a record of the events in my life.

That’s the other special part of being a reporter. I get to capture people’s cherished moments and make something lasting once the party is over and the debris and garbage is put out.

I remind myself over and over again that each one of us is a story in progress, and no matter how strange or different the content, it’s important.

The same can be said for the paper. Some stories and pictures might be strange to one person, but everything that makes its way in these pages is important. You can quickly flip through one of these papers, but it’s the product of hard work.

So, take a closer look at these pictures and stories and think about the person or car that passes you by.

M USINGS AND G RUMBLINGS

ROSS PATTERMANN R EPORTER