John Y. Brown, III on “Take ‘This Town’ And Shove It”

Sam Youngman is someone who if you haven’t heard of yet, you will.

And you will enjoy hearing from and about him –and want to hear more about him. And read more from him.

Sam is the Lexington Herald-Leader’s newest political reporter after recently returning from DC to his home state of Kentucky.

The cliched comment would be to reference something about Kentucky’s brain drain and Sam’s return being a bright spot and encouraging anecdote that Kentucky’s best and brightest do often return home to settle down. But Sam’s story is anything but a cliche or mere anecdote. I would say it is a story epic in its trajectory but serenely sane in its current arc–an arc which seems to be good news for Kentucky generally and Sam personally.

And D.C.’s loss–as Sam decided he’d absorbed about all the wisdom one can staring into an abyss. Sam appears to have concluded that the mirage of besotted and noisy power games in our nation’s capital was , in fact, an abyss –and that the orgiastic yet mind-numbing self-absorbed tedium drawing him in was instead the abyss staring back at him.

Please read this wonderfully witty and searingly honest and insightful piece about Sam Youngman’s journey home.

Homer-esque at moments; and at other times capable of making the Prodigal Son blush. But with a similar happy ending; just not one that is similarly Biblical in proportion. In fact, it’s a very humble ending that really isn’t an ending all. But rather an inspired and edifying new beginning.

Welcome home, young man. (No pun intended. Seriously)