Ed welcomes you to read his archives here.

Ed Paine is a born-and-bred Kansan but he hasn't spent his whole life here. After graduating from both high school and college in small towns in Kansas, Ed lived several decades in California. Now, he admits, he always longed to return to Kansas.

He studied political science in college and later graduated with a masters in technology from the University of California at Berkeley. Ed was swept up by the information technology boom in Silicon Valley in the 1980s. He held many rewarding jobs there throughout the 1990s and most of the 2000s.

His lovely wife, Jill, and two children (now teenagers) were all born in California. For awhile, it seemed that their family would live in northern California forever. The busting of the 'dotcom' bubble and, later, the housing bubble gave Ed and his wife a welcome opportunity to take stock of their lives. They assessed what matters most to them. The result? Both Ed and his wife wanted less traffic and a sense of belonging to a stable community. They wanted to dig in and make a difference in politics. They wanted a simpler life. During their soul searching, a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson seemed to resonate with the Paines:

"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Within just a few weeks of deciding to put down roots in Kansas, Ed found interesting and rewarding work in his field in Kansas City. He says that the entire family is happy about the change of scenery.

Ed has a long history of service to the communities in which he's lived and has been involved in politics at the local, state and national level. Ed has been a community and political activist since the 1980s.

He's also a avid reader, loves folk music and plays golf every chance he gets. Those that know him say that his laughter is contagious; they love his great sense of humor. We're glad that Ed is inspired to share his observations and opinions with the Kansas Free Press readers during this new phase of his life.

You can read entries from Ed's complete historical archives here.