Farewell, to the editor of Spare Change Newspaper in Cambridge, Ma. * appeared in Spare Change News and Cambridge Chronicle.

I've written for a number of small periodicals over the years, and had on and off relationships with any number of editors. A relationship with an editor is like any other, it takes nurturing,
and it needs time to grow. That is why it was such a shock to hear that Linda Larsen, the longtime editorial chief of SPARE CHANGE NEWSPAPER, was going off to pursue other prospects. I had reached a point with Linda, and her cohort Cindy Baron, in which I could
call them and tell them about a story I was enamored with, and nine times out of ten they gave me a perfunctory go-ahead.I remember on more than one occasion I received a letter for a job well-done, or a call with suggestions or input about a piece I completed.

I always marveled how Linda and her small staff managed to put out a twice- a -month periodical from the dark, and dank environs of a church basement on the outskirts of Harvard Square. Every little space was utilized, and on a hot summer's day sweat would pour down you like you were a denizen of a Turkish bath.

It was not glamorous work -writing about the homeless, mental illness and poverty, but it was essential work. The writing Linda did
and still does is for the most part not to entertain but to educate. In that non-descript basement, Linda assisted a brood of writers, some homeless, many from society's margins, to find a voice that sometimes seemed to echo in a void. I wish Linda the best, and I am confident that who ever fills her shoes will do a good job...but still...it just won't quite be the same.

Doug Holder* article appeared in the Cambridge Chronicle.