Hello, all.
This past weekend I moved from Clarksdale to Picayune and in the few days I’ve been here, I’ve enjoyed exploring my new home. So far, I have explored mainly Walmart, which is reassuringly familiar.
In truth, this area is all somewhat familiar, as I grew up along the Gulf Coast (in Corpus Christi, Texas) and so the live oaks, the languid afternoons and the ubiquitous seafood restaurants are all welcome. I’ve not lived near the coast in some time.
I came to Mississippi in 2009 after living in Asia following a stint in the Peace Corps and working as a journalist overseas. I came to the Magnolia State because I’ve long been fascinated by the South, and I moved to Oxford to get a masters in Southern Studies, listen to blues music and read deep into the history of the region. Let me assure you the program was much more interesting than my journalism undergraduate program.
But, once a journalist always a journalist, and after my time at Ole Miss I moved to the Delta and worked at the Press Register in Clarksdale.
There’s something about newspaper work that’s addictive. Maybe it is the brief relief one feels filling empty pages by the day’s hard deadline. And then there’s the civic pride that comes from trying, in some small way and in each story, to reflect the good or improve the bad in the community.
From what little I have seen in Picayune, there is quite a bit to be proud of here. The town is attractive, downtown seems open for business and the few people I’ve met have been warm and generous. As I settle in, I look forward to meeting more folks, either in the course of work or socially.
Because at some point soon, I hope I can go somewhere besides Walmart.

By Jesse Wright