Take a moment for yourself: During a tragedy, a journalist's job can become overwhelming. (From the President).(Ray Marcano, Society of Professional Journalists)(Brief Article)(Column)

This was supposed to be a farewell column.

I will hand the SPJ Presidency to Al Cross on Oct. 6, and for months I had thought about how I would write my final president's column.

Would I focus on membership initiatives? Maybe I would write about how SPJ has been in the news more in the last year than in any recent year in memory. Maybe I would write about how our Legal Defense fund came to the aid of people who fought injustices in journalism -- and won.

I could easily write about how proud I am to have served all of you in what has been the highlight of my journalism career.

While SPJ has been an important part of my life for 17 years, and …