Krause: Often, change is good for the soul

They say change is the essence of life … that too much familiarity leads to contentment and, ultimately, complacency.We’d all like to think we’re above such things, but if we’re honest, few of us really are. You get a good gig and get used to doing things a certain way, and you risk becoming hardened to change. You become one of those stubborn old geezers you used to laugh at when you were young and on the rise.This has been a great gig for 16 years … since 1998, when I became sports editor. It’s been such a wonderful ride. I’ve had thrills I couldn’t begin to categorize, and met people along the way who have come to mean a great deal to me.I saw the Red Sox win the World Series at Fenway; saw the Patriots win two AFC championship games at Gillette; saw all three 2011 Stanley Cup final games; numerous NCAA basketball and hockey games; saw Matt Ryan work his magic at BC for all four years; and even saw Michael Vick, while he was at Virginia Tech, come into Chestnut Hill and put on a show for the ages.Better than all that, I saw high school kids, year after year after year, play sports purely for the love of it. Oh, sure, there were parents who saw their children’s skills as potential tickets to a free ride to college. But but for the most part, these kids just loved to play, and loved playing for their schools, and with their friends, more than anything.You cannot put a price tag on that. But I can say that every boy and girl I covered over the years gave me much more than I ever gave them in return.But … this gig is over. As of today, I am moving to news as part of the new team at The Item.Change may be the essence of life, but it often comes with a good deal of trepidation. It isn’t about the future of the paper. We’re going to be fine, and the next sports editor will be a huge part of our success. That person will, perhaps, look at the landscape and conclude that certain things should be done differently, but that’s OK. After 16 years, perhaps the department and the section could use a little facelift.No … the trepidation is internal. I’ve known nothing but covering sports for 16 years, and the world outside of my little cocoon has certainly changed. The business has changed. There’s a whole new template just waiting to be drawn up, and perhaps – to reference the poet Walt Whitman – that will be our verse in the “O Me, O Life!” of a reborn industry.Whatever, The Item will negotiate the steep and sharp curves that often go with change and will, I’m sure, be victorious.I, of course, will miss dealing with the coaches, athletic directors and the parents I’ve come to know so well over the years. I know now how my friend Jim O’Leary felt last winter leaving a job he held for 30 years – football coach at St. John’s Prep. Every time you stop and think, one more example of the impending change springs to mind.Yet I saw him last Saturday at The Prep, riding around in his golf cart, big as life, and he looked reasonably happy; while his successor – Brian St. Pierre – was having conniptions on the sidelines. So there’s that aspect of it too. You just plow forward. Or, as they say, onward and upward.I just want to end this by saying the pleasure these last 16 years has been all mine. There may have been days where I cursed this job, but not many. Every day brought with it a different challenge. I’m sure there will be more. In fact, I’m counting on it.