By Frederick A. Hurst
Life is good. Not nearly as hectic and unpredictable as it has been. Our two boys (now men) are both secure and mature adults with strong wives. Our only daughter has made a name for herself in the legal field and is currently working on her doctorate. She was recently married to a good man who fits into our family like a snug glove. And we have four grandkids (three boys and one girl) and a late comer on the way for the new year. And all are doing exceptionally well in every respect under the good care of the “kids” my wife and I are so proud to have raised.
All of that to say (quoting Frank Sinatra), “It’s been a very good year.” And I have every reason to believe that this new year will be even better. On March 3rd we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our news magazine, the African American Point of View, which might well be the longest continuously operated African American newspaper in the region and certainly the most successful and most well-read.
You might have noticed that we no longer occupy our red and white office building with the well-kept lawn at 688 Boston Road where we housed both our newspaper and our law offices. We sold the building in July and retired from most of our Hurst and Hurst legal business shortly thereafter.
We haven’t completely retired. Our home offices have been wired for business use by one of the best local IT guys in the business. And, over the last six months, we have worked with a local website professional to develop a new and much more accessible Point of View website, which can be accessed from multiple platforms at www.afampov.com.
And, in the new year and beyond, we have every intention of continuing the production and distribution of the hard copy of Point of View, which we have produced and distributed on time for all of these twenty years thanks to a dedicated group of people who believe, as we do, that if we don’t regularly tell our own story in narratives that we control, nobody else will.
Speaking of narratives, I would be remiss in writting this article without mentioning that the most significant event for my new year surrounds my younger son, Justin Hurst, who is running for Mayor of Springfield against incumbent Mayor Domenic Sarno. I mention it herein for several reasons, the first of which is that I look forward to supporting my son in every way possible because I strongly and sincerely believe that he would be good for the City of Springfield and that it is high time for a change. I might also add that I believe he can win. I’ll save my other reasons for a future article.
I will say one more thing, however. Maybe, two. First, for the doubters who overlook the fact that Springfield is a majority-minority city and that enough of that majority are registered to vote to give Justin Hurst a solid advantage in a mayoral contest, all I can say is remember Georgia. Turnout in September and November is the key. And second, a quick ward-by-ward analysis of Justin’s vote numbers in previous elections reveals that he attracts substantial votes from all communities including predominantly White communities. All that it will take for Justin Hurst to win an historical mayoral race is for people to stick together and vote and 2023 could turn out to be a fun, groundbreaking year for Springfield.
I also want to thank all of our diverse writers who continue to provide so much valuable and interesting information to our diverse readers from month-to-month and year-after-year; and our rock-solid distribution manager, Shawn Merriman; and our relatively new layout genius, Harold Blanco, who allowed us to absorb the retirement of our long-term wonder, Marie Zanazanian; and Dannielle Lawrence, who, along with Harold, keeps our website current; and Marjorie Hurst, our indefatigable editor and co-owner of Point of View. And, last but not least, I thank our advertisers without whom Point of View could not continue to exist.
And to all, we at Point of View wish you a Happy New Year and many more thereafter. ■
