Today, my column/blog, The Wandering Pigeon, made its newspaper debut!
Below is what ran:
After much encouragement, from my co-worker, Jessie Wagoner, I have decided to write my own column.
So, without any further ado, I introduce my column, The Wandering Pigeon. The name comes from my online blog, which you can find the link to at the end of this column. But to understand the “why” behind the name, I’ll have to open with a little (and slightly embarrassing story) about myself.
My blog wasn’t always called The Wandering Pigeon. The name actually was born in New York City back in January. I traveled with two of my coworkers, former Gazette photographer Dustin Michelson and Gazette videographer Matt Fowler, to cover some stories.
New York City was incredible (this was my first visit to the city) — and as an avid bird lover — I noticed how many pigeons lived in the city. One of the mornings we were there, I became enamored with a group of pigeons who were feasting on some bread. I wanted a photo of one pigeon in particular because it had some unusual coloring. As I wandered off chasing after this pigeon (successfully getting a picture, I might add), I didn’t realize how far off my path I had wandered.
When I finally looked up, I realized I had no idea where I was. In the middle of New York City, alone. And lost. On me, I had my cell phone, my ID and $20. I had not taken my purse with me that morning. So, what does a Kansas resident who just got lost while chasing a pigeon in New York City do? Hail a cab of course.
It turned out that I was only about three blocks away from the hotel where we were staying. After several attempts to hail a cab, I finally got one to stop. When I told the cab driver where I wanted to go, he literally laughed out loud because apparently in New York City, people don’t hail cabs for only a few blocks. But that morning I did. And my mistake cost me several dollars and a lot of teasing from my coworkers after they heard what had happened. The joke the remainder of our time in New York City was “don’t chase any pigeons.”
Wandering around and taking photos is a theme in my life. I love to explore towns, cities and the countryside. Gwen Larson, former Gazette managing editor and good friend of mine, calls them my “photo safaris.”
In this blog I’ll likely wander around with topics. I already mentioned to my coworker, Regina Murphy, that it’s incredible to be able to use first-person. Murphy reminded me that I also get to use the exclamation point as well. Hey, it’s the little things! As journalists, we don’t get to do either of those very often. So, sit back, relax and have some laughs (and maybe some tears, who knows) on me. Let’s travel this wandering journey together.
And thanks in advance for reading. If you ever have any feedback, I’d love to hear it.
The Wandering Pigeon 