From: Crowe, Perry
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 5:01 PM
To: yyeditall; yyGuide
Subject: so long, and thanks for all the fish

Well, I feel like I just got here, and when I see all the farewell emails from 20- and 30-year veterans of The Times, I realize just how true that is. I feel like I was just getting started and then my phone rings and, bam, my position has been eliminated.

It’s sort of like in Superman II when Non rips the the light off the top of a police car and hurls it at a boy in the distance and it explodes like a motherlovin’ mortar round and a woman cries out, “He was just a boy!” and Ursa adds, “Who will never become a man!” And if you think that comparison doesn’t ring true, do a Google image search for “Non Superman” and one for “Sam Zell” and tell me Zell isn’t an older version of that evil, mute Kryptonian with the bum heat vision.

But perhaps a more apt comparison for my situation is to Superman himself; lucky enough to escape a dying planet. Maybe the “dying planet” remark was a little harsh, but it’s hard not to be at least a little bitter about the layoff. But when the bean counters call for 150 heads and the powers that be have chosen to close the section in which you work, the writing is pretty much on the wall. Maybe I didn’t play my cards right. Maybe I was dealt a losing hand. It’s a moot point now, as the end result is the same.

I ran with giants during my time here, and grew an inch or two for my trouble. And so I humbly and graciously thank you all for my time here. I learned a lot, whether in the form of words of advice from seasoned colleagues or from being crucified for misidentifying the make of a car with its lights on in the parking garage. You’re a hell of a bunch and I wish we had had more time together.

The L.A. Times is a long-lived, totemic institution in this city that is so lacking in unity and shared history. Walking the halls during my first days here, I felt a sense of awe, seeing the Times covers mounted on the walls, being part of an entity so in communion with the zeitgeist. There is so much potential here, it pains me to see the paper hobbled by economic woes and a changing market. This place deserves a lot better than what it’s getting these days, and I can only hope things improve. This city needs the Los Angeles Times.

Before I go, let me just mention a couple of my favorite things about this place. Number one, the individual bathroom on the second floor, between the hyper elevators and the Hoy offices. When things have got you down, nothing soothes the soul quite like walking into a public bathroom and locking the door behind
you. It’s enough to make anybody feel like an executive (like the sign says, “YOU own this company”). And secondly, do yourself a favor and stop by the vending machines across from the cafeteria. There’s just something joyous about a pre-packaged sandwich.

‘Til the next round up.

Perry

perry.crowe@gmail.com

P.S. I left a x-mas cactus at my desk, should anyone feel like adopting an orphan.

Perry Crowe
Associate Editor, The Guide
Los Angeles Times
202 W. First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.237.7101
perry.crowe@latimes.com

In retrospect, I should’ve been diplomatic enough not to directly admit to being bitter about the layoff. Got to dress that kinda shit up in poetics and self-deprecation before you can present it in the workplace!

Love the snakebite photo. How about re-printing the farewell email from LAT?