Reporter's Notebook: A chapter ends

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

By Ben Cannon

If you’ve picked up an issue of JH Weekly anytime over the last few months, you may have noticed an advertisement for my job. That’s because in April I announced to the office that I would be leaving the paper in mid-July, which has come. This letter is the last thing I’ll write as a JH Weekly staff reporter.

Though I’ve had at least three months to prepare to end this chapter, I still don’t know if I’m ready to pass the mile marker. I’m probably not the first person in history to feel that way about moving on from something that has helped define a personal and professional era. C’est la vie.

In case you haven’t heard, I’m taking off to spend a few months in Germany. Somehow I managed to land myself a sweet little fellowship in Munich, where I’ll be stationed at a weekly magazine published by the country’s largest newspaper.

Coming from Jackson Hole, I’ll be the only American in our group who isn’t visiting Germany from media capitals like New York City, Washington and Atlanta. One thing I’ve learned: being a Jackson Hole resident can help you stand out in a group of people from other parts of the country. In some cases, the sheer novelty of coming from here can offer a number of benefits to the Jackson Hole resident who finds himself many miles from his pleasant hammock of life here.

But I’m not sure what waits for me on the other side of this experience.
I’ll be leaving most of my stuff in my beloved East Jackson apartment, which I’ve subleased out, but my future in Jackson Hole remains very unclear. I plan to return in the fall, but I can’t say whether I’ll resume life here, or move on elsewhere. To borrow from the title of a film about Joe Strummer of the Clash, the future is unwritten.

The good news is that, although this happens to be a bittersweet moment loaded with uncertainty, I’m grateful for the way this chapter has closed. Like many of you, I have fallen in love with this place. Lately I’ve taken to decribing it to friends and relatives as “the best little community in America.” But lately I’ve been asking myself: am I crazy about Jackson Hole, or am I just a little bit crazy? The answer is probably a little, or a lot, of both.

A lot has happened in four years of living in Wyoming. I moved to Jackson, at 26, feeling heavy from a breakup, yet I depart a 30-year-old who has received so many wonderful gifts that old details like that now seem trivial. It wasn’t an easy road, and I discovered that learning how to be a reporter involves a fair amount of falling on your face. (Man, did I ever fall on my face, especially in the early days!) But life is all about stumbling, isn’t it, and so long as you keep pushing forward, with any luck, things will probably turn out fine.

More than anything, I would like to thank you, people of Jackson Hole, for allowing me to tell just a few of the many remarkable stories that make this community the terrific place it is. At worst, you witnessed the missteps of a young writer learning to walk in public. At best, I like to think we both have become richer people along the way. Here’s to your future and mine. Untill then, I’m signing off.  JHW
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Reporter's Notebook: A chapter ends | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

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