I’m back.

And no, that’s not reference to the scary Hollywood movie, although readers have said my blog may be a little frightening, sometimes.

After being on a medical leave for several weeks because of hand surgery, I have resumed my full range of duties, including giving you these behind the scenes looks at The Oakland Press Opinion Page. I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand, which, obviously, made it difficult to type and use a mouse.

In my absence, Editorial Assistant Chris Laine did a yeomen’s job of handling the letters to the editor, guest opinions and laying out the Opinion Pages. The time-consuming jobs involved not only editing the letters and processing them for publication but also contacting the authors to ensure they indeed, sent in the correspondence.

Meanwhile, reporter Jerry Wolffe handled many of the editorial writing duties although this function is often shared by others in the editorial department, including Executive Editor Glenn Gilbert, political reporter Charlie Crumm, Presentation Editor Roger Wingelaar and Automotive Editor Joe Szczesny.

Good backup is always key to the success of any organization. The Oakland Press is blessed with many quality personnel who have had to, from time to time, take on extra duties and functions that in the past were normally not even part of their job descriptions.

As with many businesses today, versatility has become a primary job skill at The Oakland Press.