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Why is it that bad news comes in threes?

Some believe that to be tied to superstition. Or is it just coincidence?

I read online (www.howstuffworks.com) that three is seen as a symbol of balance and completeness. The triangle, with its three sides, represents stability and harmony.

The Pythagoreans, an ancient Greek philosophical school, regarded three as the first true number. This mathematical significance might lead one to assume that three is associated with good luck rather than bad.

But with the good always comes the bad. Those who believe in superstition say that deaths, accidents, or even personal misfortunes tend to occur in threes.

I’m not overly superstitious, but we here at the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald have experienced the loss of three people close to our hearts over a stretch of 41 days.

Danny Lee Farmer passed away on Sept. 27. Danny is the husband of our longtime News-Herald colleague, Judy Farmer. Judy, our Advertising Director, has worked here over 30 years. Her family is our family.

Danny was a great son, husband, father, brother, and friend. A brick mason by trade (learning that craft from his father, Ray Farmer), Danny was crafty with his hands (much like my brother, Tommy Bryant). There was much he couldn’t fix/repair/make better. That high level of handiwork eventually landed him a job at Chowan University in the maintenance department, from where he retired.

There were several things that made Danny stand out from others. He had an infectious smile, one that always seemed to widen when he spoke about his daughter, Kelsey. He was always in a cheerful mood when I was around him. His laid back style put people at ease when they were in his company.

As a sports fan, especially of Chowan University, Danny would take Kelsey to games while she was growing up. He later beamed with pride when Kelsey played softball at Hertford County High School.

That pride was on full display when he walked Kelsey to the alter on her wedding day. I had to laugh later that day when, after all the formal photos were taken, Danny took a brief leave of absence to go home and change into more comfortable clothes for the reception.

That’s the Danny Lee Farmer I will miss the most!

Less than three weeks after Danny’s passing, the News-Herald crew lost a true Southern lady that meant the world to me, personally and professionally.

I don’t remember the exact date, but sometimes in the fall of 1972, while enrolled in the Graphic Arts program at what was then Chowan College, I was informed of a part-time opening here at the newspaper. The job was in the offset camera room.

I came in for an interview (back when the printing operation was all housed on McGlohon Street, the home today of American Legion Post 102) with John Powell, the Commercial Printing Manager. I guess I showed my nervousness while sitting in the office of John’s administrative assistant, Emily Hall. Using her grace and charm, “Miss Emily” calmed me down and I nailed the interview and got the job, leading to what has become a lifelong profession.

Somewhere along the line, I changed my “affection” title for “Miss Emily” to “Auntie Em.” That was due to her always seemingly watching over me. If I got in John’s “doghouse” for messing something up at work, Auntie Em would come to my rescue, smoothing things out with John.

That led to her calling me “Toto” (presumably based on the little Terrier that followed Dorothy around on the Wizard of Oz). What followed was a lifetime of love and respect we had for each other. I can’t begin to tell you how many times she has reached out to me during my career, telling me how much she enjoyed reading a story I wrote or congratulating me on an award I won.

I believe our paths were destined to cross and I consider myself a better person because I had “Auntie Em” in my life.

Last week, the News-Herald lost another former colleague and friend with the passing of Keith Hoggard.

Sporting what was then in style (wearing suspenders) and red hair and a full beard, Keith came to us in May of 1990, hired then as the News Editor for the Northampton News.

Living at the Ahoskie home of his late grandparents (Raleigh and Ozie Byrd), Keith worked out of the Jackson office….covering all the news and events in Northampton County.

I was the Sports Editor of the News-Herald back in those days and hit it off with Keith right off the bat. He was sort’a goofy, but I later learned that was all an act. This guy was smart as they come, graduating magna cum laude in 1984 from ECU with a triple major in English, Psychology, and Philosophy. He even taught Freshman Composition for five years at ECU and was earlier in the U.S. Army, working intelligence in South Korea.

When the Northampton News and the News-Herald merged later in the 1990s to become the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Keith became our Associate News Editor.

Keith was a master storyteller….his command of the English language and all its intricacies would flow from his brain to the tips of his fingers on a keyboard. And his wit and his charm as a good old country boy from Bertie County was a perfect match to earn the trust of those he interviewed.

And when it came to writing personal columns, Keith’s style would capture the reader’s attention from the opening paragraph and keep it locked in until the final period.

I learned a great deal about how to become a better journalist by reading whatever he wrote.

We became good friends outside of work…playing “dime” poker at his house. I was in his wedding party the day where a man I figured as a lifetime bachelor became the husband to Kim. I’ve never see him any happier when he found his true soul mate.

I guess the good Lord needed a Public Information Officer. He got one on Nov. 6. Rest in peace my friend.

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.