Last day

This feels a little strange and a LOT exciting.
Today is my last day with the Asheville Citizen-Times. After more than a quarter century in the news business, I'm moving on to do health care advocacy and education with my nonprofit, Life o' Mike.
It has just reached a point where I need to devote more time to what's important to me, and that is working for access to quality health care for all Americans.
Leaving journalism frees me to speak out on the issues and dispel some of the misinformation that's being put out there.
For example: Seniors aren't going to be killed. The provision they're misrepresenting is one allowing doctors to spend time with patients to ask whether they have a living will, whether they've thought about end-of-life issues. Mike had one and so do I. We all need to think about it, especially as we age.
Another example: It appears some people on Medicare don't realize it's a government program. It's also a single-payer system. So, if you don't want the government in health care, prepare to give yours up if you're getting Medicare, and good luck finding something on the so-called free market because you likely have a pre-existing condition and will be denied coverage.
I'll be writing grants to get some volunteer programs off the ground and working with other nonprofits to improve the lives of people with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities.
Life just got really interesting.