Column: I appreciate you!

Each week I have a column in the Whitehall Ledger and the content can range from serious to absurd. There are also certainly and more often than I like columns that seem may seem a little bit cranky with my observations on day-to-day life. This week I would like to change it up and put a much more positive spin on my 500ish words.

Probably the favorite place I have worked at is the Green River Star weekly newspaper in Wyoming. It was a tight knit staff of people who truly did care for each other and a bond I still have. I'm surprised we got anything done with the number of shenanigans that took place on a daily basis, but somehow, we did manage to put together a quality newspaper. One of my favorite things about my co-workers is how we would let everyone know they were doing their part to publish the paper. We would do this by randomly going up to each other and saying, "I appreciate you". It seemed a bit silly and it was a times, but there was a lot of truth behind it, so it did mean a lot. So, for this week, I'm going to try and be a bit more appreciative.

To all the people that like to yell at me, I appreciate you. It's great that what is in the paper means enough to you to be so passionate. If you didn't care you wouldn't be screaming at me like I was a five-year old that just set the basement on fire playing with matches.

To everyone who purchases or advertises in the newspaper, I truly do appreciate you. With you buying an ad or physical copy of the paper there would be no Whitehall Ledger. A special thanks to all those who read online. It's crazy this small of a paper has had stories with 10,000 plus views, but it has happened. How cool is that?

To all those small-town people who will always wave while driving not caring if they know you or not, I appreciate you. It is a wonderful feeling to be driving down a MT Highway and have every vehicle that passes in the opposite direction waving. In a bigger city they can sometimes be doing the middle finger wave and what fun is that?

To everyone who owns a small business in the Whitehall area, I appreciate you. Owning a small business is no easy thing. Sure, you get to be the boss, but there are a lot of responsibilities that go along with it. I really appreciate all the hard-working farmers and ranchers who seem to never get a day off and are always busy doing something.

To all the wonderful local teachers, staff, and administrators at our local schools, I appreciate you. The work you do is never given enough recognition and that isn't fair. Keep doing what you do, the local students are in good hands.

I truly wanted to someone put a positive spin on all the people who speed past me on the Interstate even if it is in horrible conditions, but I can't. In this case I appreciate the fact that some people will never learn.

To everyone who reads this column every week, I appreciate you. I have written one at every paper I have worked at and while it is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, a lot of people enjoy them. A special nod of appreciation to "Granny" Mary Clark in South Carolina who starts Facebook messaging me if I'm even a few minutes sending her the link to the column every Wednesday.

And of course, to all the wonderful people in my life past and present, I appreciate you.