By MIKE HERNDON
Current Co-Publisher
RICHMOND, Ky. — I now know who I am. That may sound strange coming from a 60-plus-year-old American white male. But for most of my life – at least the adult portion – I was a poser. Better described, perhaps, I was an impostor. As Robert S. McGee puts it in his insightful book, The Search for Significance, I based my self-worth on my performance and on what others thought of me. Like most folks who live a lie, I was unable to maintain the self-deception. Life ripped the mask off five years ago, and I was forced to take a long, hard look in the mirror. It was not a pretty sight. That fragile self-image I had created was shattered. I was having an identity crisis. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I knew what I wanted to be: a news reporter. And not just anywhere. It had to be at the daily newspaper in the small western Kentucky city where I grew up. I already was sports editor of the school paper. I loved interviewing and writing about the local football and basketball heroes. I loved seeing my name in print. I thought I had found my “niche.” So I set about making my dream come true. I took all the English courses I could and began scoping out affordable colleges offering journalism degrees. In the summer following graduation I summoned up all my courage and, with a handful of clippings of my best student stories, marched into the local newspaper office looking for a part-time job. After hearing my sales pitch, the editor offered a patronizing smile of support and told me in so many words: “Don’t call us; we’ll call you.” Read more
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