Almost one year ago, my phone began to vibrate as the name Matthew Osborne flashed across the screen, calling to offer me a job as a reporter at The Northeast Georgian. Fresh out of college and eager to begin my career, I accepted and before I knew it, nervously walked through the doors on my very first day.
During the first couple of weeks on the job, I realized Matthew and I didn’t have much in common. And when you know you’re going to spend five days a week with someone who sits at a desk 15 feet away from you, you have to start brainstorming things to talk about.
He made references to sports I did not understand and Marvel movies I had never seen, but he always radiated passion for the people and things he loved. You could not help but feel the love for them too.
“One day we’re going to find something we have in common,” he said. Not long after that comment, he referenced “Field of Dreams,” the 1989 movie about the ghosts of baseball players appearing after Kevin Costner hears a mysterious voice saying the famous words “if you build it, he will come.”
I immediately darted my head in his direction and said, “I quote that all the time!” With a satisfied laugh, he pointed and said “Finally!,” elated that we finally found a reference we both understood and mutually loved.
Over the last year, we learned a lot about each other’s lives and our interests. Our once stunted conversations transformed into excited banter. To others, I always called Matthew my editor, but not often enough did I say he was my friend. When searching for a job, I always looked for a sense of camaraderie and the ability to joke around with my colleagues. I found that in Matthew.
After hearing of his passing on Tuesday while also trying to assemble a newspaper, I began to wonder what Matthew’s “build it and he will come” moment would be. What is his field of dreams?
I thought of rare bobbleheads, Arnold Palmers with the perfect 60:40 ratio of tea and lemonade, the latest Sharknado movie, and all the other minuscule things I came to know that Matthew loved. As I proofread pages and read his final column, I realized at that moment I was building one of the many things Matthew loved – a newspaper.
Matthew loved all of his people and had boundless interests, journalism being one of them. Just last week, he told a story about one of his former newspapers getting a paper out to the people, even after a major storm hit the area. No matter what, Matthew got things done. I’m grateful we could build something with some of his last few messages of wisdom and wit. And for now, I know with every story I write, community event I cover, and photograph I take, Matthew will be there. Because we built it.