No, you can’t go that quietly

It came as no surprise. It was characteristic of a Roger Carlson move

if you knew him well. He isn’t into farewell tours, so when he packed

up and left -- retiring from the Daily Pilot after 35 years -- it was

really the perfect exit.

“You’ve got to quit some time,” he said in the comfort of his

living room, seemingly trying to decide, among the hundreds, which

DVD to watch that night.

His children told him he’s lucky. How many people can retire

completely and totally on their terms? He has now inherited countless

more hours with his grandchildren and lovely wife, Dorothea, who

shares every moment and every ache and every thrill that he has

endured in his adult life. They’re a beautiful couple.

But here in the trenches it will be different. Despite what Roger

or anybody else has said, the world, in fact, will never be the same.

While he chose to go out quietly, there’s no way our sports

department or anyone else at this newspaper can let it happen without

a proper send-off, because he was more than a sportswriter or sports

editor, but a Daily Pilot institution. They should name fields or

stadiums after him, his impact was so great. Today is a mere tribute.

Basking in retirement these days, Carlson, 66, decided enough was

enough, ending one of the most remarkable sportswriting careers ever

fashioned in the history of the business, not just because of his

length of time at one location -- a rarity in our line of work -- but

the integrity, dedication and downright magic that he exhibited

throughout his career.

Roger Carlson, you see, is more than a sports editor to me. He’s a

friend. A mentor. A father figure. My 2-year-old son’s name, Richard

Nolan Dunn, was arranged by him (it was going to be Nolan Richard).

When I first arrived at the Daily Pilot as a wide-eyed 19-year-old

stringer in the fall of 1981, Roger Carlson was the guy who took me

under his wing, sat down with me and taught me how to cover a

football game -- the stats we kept then, and now, for a high school

football game are far more involved than virtually any newspaper in

the country and, chances are, that will continue, largely because of

the traditions he established in his career, which started in 1964 as

a stringer, leading to a full-time position in January, 1968. By

1988, he was in charge and hired me as a full-time sports reporter.

He will be sorely missed around here. His ideas were endless.

There was the time in August, 1992 when our staff shaved our heads in

support of high school football players and what was happening in the

school district at the time (something about a lack of funds). There

was our Big Push weight-loss program in 1996 to help raise funds for

the district. The laughs will be missed in Roger’s office, but a

legend will live on. Thanks for the memories.