FOREST - Journalism was an accidental career. My original intentions were to go to law school as an avenue leading to the political world.
Truth be told, I never had a burning desire to be an attorney, just a passion for the political game - not so much to be out front but to be an instrumental figure behind the scenes.
A year into college, I fell in love with journalism. It rivaled the passion I felt for politics, and somewhere among the parties and the early-morning classes and the new friends, I sent that ridiculous idea of law school into the void never to be considered again.
To feed my political desires, I majored in political science. But my involvement in the school newspaper - and then in the underground campus newspaper my friends and I started - soon pointed the way to my eventual career.
For more than 10 years I've worked as a journalist on a newspaper staff. It's been a rewarding career that has allowed me to still be an active observer of the political process. In the last few years, my political column has grown, and I've been blessed to be a regular or semi-regular face in opinion pages across the state.
More important than my column, however, has been the opportunities I've been blessed with as a small-town newspaperman. From Rankin County to Natchez to Houston and Calhoun City to my current home in Forest, I've been witness to some extraordinary events and some heart-wrenching stories.
In Rankin County, I met a young man who has been confined to a wheelchair most of his life but who still plays backyard football and loves to play video games with his friends. He's got a better outlook on life than I've ever had, and that is a testament to his faith in the Lord.
In Natchez, I interviewed a man who spent much of his life raising a family and umpiring Little League games. The interview with the retiree took place at a bank where he was meeting with a financial adviser after winning the Louisiana lottery.
Also in Natchez, I stayed up through the night as firefighters fought to contain the smoldering fires that destroyed one of the beautiful old downtown buildings.
In Houston, it was my wife who interviewed our landlord's mother, a matriarch of old who among her many tales told of how tradition had led her to bronze her parents' shoes after they died.
It was the Halloween carnival that stands out the most from Calhoun City. The lights throughout the square that all joined at the gazebo were straight from Hollywood's best imagination of what small-town life must be like.
And in Forest, I've met a young girl who has commanded audiences with governors and congressmen and who won't give up on talking with President Bush - or at least his mother - in an effort to raise money to purchase books for the seeing-impaired to be used in libraries and schools.
There was also the difficult funeral of a young man one year removed from high school tragically killed in a car accident and the rather inspiring funeral of a mentor's wife who finally stopped fighting. These funerals affected me like no others.
Along the way, I've been honored to be a part of soccer associations and theatre companies. I've worked with chambers of commerce and been a member of civic clubs like Rotary and Kiwanis. I've made countless new friends and even a few enemies.
Now, my first love is calling, and I have the opportunity to work in the political arena. At the end of June, I will leave The Scott County Times and the only career I've known to be the communications director for the Mississippi Democratic Party.
I can only say that it has been a treat for me to do what I've done to this point. In the future, perhaps I'll find myself a journalist once again. It is an exciting career that in Mississippi is filled with caring, smart professionals with whom I've shared my passion.
For now, I'll bid this career farewell with a heartfelt thank you to the readers who have been faithful to me.
