I
received a call from a woman in Arizona this
summer. She shared that her brother, up in Cody,
was dying from terminal cancer and had a birthday
approaching. He loved pictures of Wyoming, and
she wanted to send him back copies of WLM to look
at while going through the challenges he was presented
with at this time. I was so thankful she called – that I
had the opportunity to help, in some small way. Perhaps
I could help bring this person, who was a stranger to me,
some comfort.
I received a follow up message that I greatly appreciated
from this very caring woman a few weeks later. Her
brother had passed recently, and she shared that the
magazines were of great help to him before he passed. It
was wonderful to have that cap on the story for me, and
I hope that his family and friends are finding peace at
this time.
This is a wonderful story about love and the kindness
of people and how families can love each other. It also
touched me that in this moment of his life, Wyoming’s
beauty was a comfort to him. In his years as a resident
of Wyoming, I bet he made plenty of wise cracks about
the snow, the wind, the cold, the difficulties we have
every day living in Wyoming that we all make wise
cracks about, and grumble about (especially come
March/April). But for him, in the end it was pictures
of the beautiful place that he lived that helped him find
comfort. That’s pretty powerful.
I’ve discovered, throughout my life but especially since
we began WLM in January 2010, that Wyoming is a
powerful place to many people. Go on a trip to the East
Coast and tell someone you’re from Wyoming – the
reactions are always interesting. Usually there’s some
comment such as, “I knew someone from there once!”
or “I visited there in ___, how I’d love to go back!” or “I
have always wanted to visit there someday!” Or if none
of the above apply, I would be willing to bet that they
would say “Wow, no kidding!” I have never once ran
into someone that didn’t find my status as a Wyomingite
worth stopping and exclaiming over in some fashion.
That’s also pretty powerful.
When you live in a state with such a low population,
people from Wyoming tend to become a rare breed.
But that’s okay, because we live in a place that is so rare
itself. Travel from the eastern end of the state to the
other (and you must venture off I-80 too!) and you’ll
see how varied our landscape is. Look around you in
each town, and you’ll see the unique economic engines
that vary widely. Talk to the people in each town and
you’ll see the differences that make our state such an
interesting place to live. We are a variety of rare breeds,
all calling this beautiful square state home.
For those who have visited and are reading this, we hope
you’ll come see us again – and until then, $