After returning from Europe I sent out applications for the three or four newspaper jobs that were open across the country (OK, that's an exaggeration. But only a slight one). Finding no takers, I decided to take the opportunity to give back to my hometown. I left Kansas and signed up for the Minnesota Reading Corps, an AmeriCorps program that places reading tutors in schools across the state. Since August I have been at Madison Elementary in St. Cloud, tutoring 17 kids in grades K-3, 20 minutes per kid, five days a week. It has been tiring, but rewarding. Seems like every day the kids say things that are alternately touching, hilarious and heartbreaking. I have bonded with many of them and it will be tough to leave when my year of service is up.
Upon returning home I also received a call from the the St. Cloud Times, which was looking for some part-time staff. Since September I have been working three nights a week there. I mostly take calls from high school coaches and write briefs, but I've been able to do a few full sports stories and have also found myself becoming the receptacle for all the news stories no one else wants ("Find a local angle on the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down? Sure, I'll take a stab at it"). In short order I went from working 0 hours a week to about 60. I'm still making less money than I was in Olathe, but I feel very productive.
Because of my limited income, I felt it prudent to move back in with Mom and Dad when I returned to St. Cloud. So far the move has been pretty seamless for all the humans involved. Baxter, however, does not get along with their dog, George. George likes to romp and play, which tends to interfere with Baxter's extensive sleep schedule. He is becoming a grumpy old man.
(To be continued... again)
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