Review

A Doorman Speaks, one last time

By Openthedoor-man  | October 10, 2011 - 12:36PM
image

And so the time has come. I am stepping down as a columnist at the “Brick.”

As I write this, I feel like a renter whose lease has run out and he has to move out and on. The good thing about it? There's no “schlepping” involved.

It's also nice to know that this was my own decision. I have the manuscript for a book that I’m determined to finish and – hard to believe or understand – another that I want to start.

More important, I’ve said everything that I wanted to say in this column. It is time to stop.

I walk away, though, with a newfound confidence that a doorman's voice can be heard and that there are many people out there willing to listen.

Think about this. We live in a city where there are thousands of doormen employed in many thousands of buildings. My stories were a mere sampling of experiences and observations gleaned from 17-plus years on the job.

So, maybe there are a few more literary doormen somewhere aching and eager to speak out as well? With that in mind, I'm happy that I was one of the first to give voice to some of the building workers from the other side of the door.

I would like to thank Teri Karush Rogers. BrickUnderground has grown tremendously these past couple of years; I hope it continues to do so. It was Teri who believed in a comment I posted on her site one day supporting a “twittering” doorman – a guy who was posting bits of on-the-spot minutiae happening at his building. Until one day, he stopped.

My comment included the fact that I, too, was a doorman and had even written a book about the array of people and issues we are asked to manage (or keep secret) every day.

Since then, I have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, posting my own kind of commentary from the lobby. And, I'm still here working the door.

I would like to thank Margot Slade for her patience in editing my posts.

To my family and friends, my heartfelt gratitude for their continued support.

Thanks to my daughter, who I repeatedly asked to spread the word to her Facebook friends, trying to get as many “likes” as possible. And to Alex for assisting in the campaign.

To my wife, my deepest love. I’ve lost track of the number of nights I read to you from my manuscript-in-progress or from the posts I was working on. You always had my back. I’m lucky enough to say you still do.

Finally, to everyone who has stopped for a moment and read my posts, I ask that you continue to follow me. As this chapter comes to an end, I hope to be opening doors to new opportunities.


Follow Openthedoor-man on Twitter: @openthatdoorman

Related posts:

See all 'A Doorman Speaks'

 

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: