Spring break

Time for the first extended break from blogging.

It's spring break in Oregon and, although we no longer have our lives guided by the school calendar, it's still a good time to break away for some R&R. And, boy, can I use it.

We got the word yesterday that pay cuts, furloughs and frozen pension benefits are all part of our future at The Oregonian, starting in May. Those of us who've poured our heart and soul into journalism -- and that's virtually every one of my peers -- were prepared for bad news, but not quite this big a dose. The pension bit is what will hurt the most, knowing the benefits we'd hoped to lock in with additional years of service won't be there.

This isn't the time or place to lament the larger forces at work here -- mammoth changes in how people want their news delivered, coupled with a tattered economy. But I will say that if ever there were a time and place to appreciate the positives in life, it's now and it's at our cabin at Eagle Lake (above).

I don't expect it will look like this when we arrive. Even if it did, there's no place I'd rather be.