Expanding My Perceptions, Geographic Locations

Welcome to my newest mobile office.

I am typing this post from a wonderful place. I am in a gazebo-like area, amidst nature (and the sound of construction equipment, as the entryway is getting repaved), ample wifi and even an outlet. This truly is a place one would point to when speaking of the benefits of working from home.

And, this is the first time I have ever been here since moving to the area in July 2010.

For longtime residents and nature lovers alike, this may seem a bit odd. Let me explain: When I began my tenure with Patch as editor of its Morristown site, something took shape: If I was going to do the best job I thought capable, I was going to absorb Morristown as much as possible. It was months before much outside the 3-square-miles proper was remotely familiar. True story: the first time I did an article about NJ AIDS Service, located in Central Park of Morris County on the Morris Plains/Parsippany border, I ended up in Livingston.

But, Patch has evolved in the 27 months since I collected my first paycheck here. And, while I have always had some hand in its process, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 marks the first day I officially am now also the editor of Morris Township-Morris Plains Patch. 

For those who don't know me, nice to meet you.

It still seems perfectly logical to my mind that I would write about something happening on the portion of Western Avenue in Morristown but not the portion in Morris Township, though it may be located closer to a Morristown resident than Town Hall (which really isn't that far from Morris Township's municipal building). Yet, there it is.

People have asked me questions about something happening (literally) a stone's throw from this imaginary border. And, all I could do was shake my head.

I even briefly lived in Morris Township in 2011, near the Randolph border. Suddenly, that section of Randolph became more familiar than Morris Township was, and we don't even have a Patch site there (sorry, neighbors).

And now here I am, sitting comfortably under the canopy, taking in a cool breeze, watching as passersby pass by. They may be from Morristown, Morris Township, Morris Plains, Hanover Township, East Hanover, Florham Park, Madison, Parsippany, Randolph, Denville, Chatham, Livingston or elsewhere. And, they still may call this home. All this in a place that may have been on the moon or a short bike ride from my front door.

Now, so do I. And, even though that was not the case even a few weeks ago, it's like it always was.