DeMONTIS: This isn’t goodbye, more like see you later

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Do you believe in goodbyes? I don’t. So this is more of a see you later, as I bid adieu to the Toronto Sun.

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I remember vividly my first day at the cheeky little upstart of a paper – it was in the summer of 1976, and the day was sweltering with that glorious steamy heat that rose up from the sidewalks, assuring you winter was still months away.

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I remember the humidity turning my shiny black hair into a riot of curls and waves and I wore light blue flared jeans and a striped blue and white top to my first day on the job. I wore bright red lipstick. And I was 21 years old.

I was shy and starry-eyed at all the famous scribes who were so nonchalant when they sauntered by my desk. I started in the television magazine department – after having worked for TV Guide Magazine for more than two years – and slowly, and with much encouragement by my bosses of the day, worked my way through various departments, covering everything from consumer complaints to crime before landing in the Lifestyle department in the mid-1980s, later becoming food editor and then lifestyle editor.

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Thanks to the Sun, I received accolades and awards recognizing my contributions to the food industry. I branched into other mediums – television, radio and public speaking. At one point, I had a cooking show! And I became involved in charitable causes, especially with Humber River Hospital. I started a popular shopping contest called The Magical Mystery Bus ride and people still reach out asking when’s the bus coming back!

I spoke publicly about my adventures, and I have never been prouder than talking about my work with my beloved Toronto Sun.

Ever day has been an adventure. I haven’t looked back since.

But I’m now I’m looking forward, at the future. On a cool, early spring morning several weeks ago, my black hair now shot through with grey, I decided it was time to step down and step back, and reassess my life and my work.

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I have been with one company for 47 years this year, 50 years in media altogether. That’s the only life I’ve ever known since graduating from Grade 12 on a Friday afternoon one day, and starting full-time with a magazine the following Monday.

And, even though I loved TV Guide, I was always so curious about this cheeky upstart of a newspaper called the Toronto Sun. I read it every day, I memorized the players, the writers, the adventures. And I thought to myself – one day I’m going to join this ragtag gang of news purveyors, of dreamers and adventurers, this fearless band of superheroes.

Because I truly believed all those reporters and editors, those columnists and photographers, were cut from a different cloth.

And, as shy as I was, I knew one day, I’d be joining this legendary paper, described as a word factory of the time. I wanted in so badly – and through a happy series of circumstances (and the fact I knew how to put out a television magazine, even at such a young age) – I got hired.

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It truly was like joining the proverbial circus – we had lions and tigers and bears come through the newsroom floor. Depending on who was working, there was probably a unicorn or two who meandered in, too.

And, thanks to the Sun, I’ve had a front-row seat to some of the most exciting events in history, not to mention having interviewed the rich and powerful, the famous and infamous, women who lived through the worst domestic violence, women who killed their spouses, women who fought tooth and nail for their lives.

And all those big names! Last year alone I had a chance to sit and chat with Stanley Tucci, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dog, Bon Jovi and Dan Akyroyd. I’ve interviewed Anthony Bourdain a dozen times, the last time a few months before he took his own life. Jamie Oliver is a personal friend. The list is endless and every single interview has been a gift.

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I do believe I’ve written a million stories throughout all these years. Perhaps a million and one. Thanks to the Sun, I’ve been allowed to stretch my wings and just write from my heart.

It’s so surreal.

And I’ve loved every single moment of this journey.

My curiosity for life’s adventures continues, and new horizons await. I’m not retiring – far from it! – but looking at new beginning and further challenges.

For you see, I’m a curious person, and I always know there’s a story to tell, a story to write. You may see my name here periodically as food and life stories come and go.

Lastly, I have so many people to thank!

From the founders – the late Doug Creighton, Don Hunt and Peter Worthington (whom I loved like family, who taught me so much about the industry, and was such a kind and wonderful friend!), to my current bosses, the lovely Adrienne Batra and wonderful Kevin Hann, who has been my friend for decades, and the joyful Cynthia McLeod, not to mention the reams of friends who are like family to me, too numerous to mention. You know who you are.

Lastly for my late parents, Antonio and Candida. I am the daughter of immigrants who came to Canada with absolutely nothing, and asked nothing in return except to give their children a better life. My dad especially always encouraged me to go beyond my comfort zone and reach for the stars.

Thanks to my dad, I reached for the Sun.

rita@demontis.ca