This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Ever been sick or injured and have people keep asking if you're OK until it drives you crazy? It's hard to fault them. Presumably, they care about you. They want to make sure you're getting better.

It's also true that some of them can't really think of anything else to say. Inquiring after your health is just their way of making polite conversation.

"So, ah, Frank ... I see you're still missing that leg. They ever find it? "

I'm going through something like that right now. Ever since The Salt Lake Tribune was purchased by Paul Huntsman, people have expressed their concern. It was manageable then, because I knew it was coming. I just stayed home and goofed off until the dust settled.

Now, with the departure of our beloved Editor Terry Orme, the anxiety for my career health has redoubled. Things can't be good if the consummate journalist abruptly left. It certainly can't bode well for a scribbling wretch. So, the questions.

"You still have a job?"

"What are you going to do if they let you go?"

"Is The Tribune doomed?"

"If they fire you, will they bring back the 'Mary Worth' cartoon strip?"

Answers (in order): "Yes. Whatever my wife says. We're all doomed, if you think about it. I have no idea."

Terry was the guiding hand at The Tribune during what many of us refer to as "The Troubles" or, more accurately, the years when we were owned by a bunch of turtle-*$%@ing New York hedge-fund ratbags.

Terry kept us going through that evil mess. During that time, he never lost his charm. Whenever I managed to find my way into the newsroom, he was always the one who greeted me with, "Hey, I thought you were still in jail." I'll miss that a lot. And him.

But change is inevitable. Terry's replacement is Jennifer Napier-Pearce, who used to work at The Tribune and was, on brief occasions, my boss. I have a pretty good idea of what's coming.

Jennifer is not the first female to sit in the editor's chair, but she is the first boss I've had at The Tribune to actually strike me.

Once, upon finding me asleep on the floor at the KCPW radio studio where I had gone to do an interview, she kicked me until I woke up. Ask her if she didn't.

That incident was a little embarrassing. For her. Jennifer's a respected and professional journalist with a degree of self-respect. I'm a columnist. Stuff like that happens to me all the time.

Jennifer assumes command Sept. 1. That gives me exactly four weeks to learn some manners. In the meantime, longtime deputy Editor Tim Fitzpatrick (who has thought about assaulting me but never actually done so) will be our interim editor.

Tim, whose career at The Tribune goes back to the days before the arrival of the Mormon pioneers, is a capable editor, running a battered but resilient staff of dedicated professionals.

This brings me to my direct boss, Rachel Piper. She hasn't hit me either, but there are times, if I turn quickly enough, I can catch her studying the back of my head with a narrow look.

In my 20-plus years at Utah's largest newspaper, I have worked for and with some amazing people. And as long as Jennifer has my wife's phone number on speed dial, I fully expect to keep on doing it.

Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com or facebook.com/stillnotpatbagley.