Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Feinstein, who sings classics from the Great American Songbook by such composers and lyricists as Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern and Cole Porter in concert and shares information about these musical legends on his shows on PBS and NPR. Feinstein grew up in Ohio in the 1960s and ‘70s, the same as me, and shared how he came to be listening to the greats of another era while I tuned my tangerine-colored Panasonic radio to a station that played a perpetual loop of the Rolling Stones, Eagles and Jackson Five.

I’ve been a publisher and editor since my wife and I started the Beacon newspapers 24 years ago. Still, it’s a rare thing these days when I actually “report” on anything myself.During the quiet days at the end of 2012, as I was reading about the fiscal cliff negotiations and Congress was being called back into session over New Year’s Eve weekend, I had a realization.

We’re told the need to address our federal budget deficit (over $14 trillion and growing by $4 billion a day) is about to push us over a “fiscal cliff” that would send us back into recession or worse. Among the many steps Congress is being urged to take to cope with this crisis is the modification of Social Security. Does one have anything to do with the other?

It’s definitely feeling like fall around here. And with Thanksgiving not far away, autumn always feels like a good time to think about appreciation. I have a number of things to be thankful for this fall, not the least of which is our staff here at the Beacon. And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks they are doing a wonderful job.