With Apologies to the Readers of West Ky. Journal: The strain of fighting the future was too much.
Ivan Potter, Publisher, West Kentucky Journal
For the past six months, articles to be written or researched for the West Kentucky Journal have been on an irregular basis. I, Ivan Potter, want to take this space and time to say to our readers that, “I am sorry for dropping the ball on covering the news that impacts West Kentucky.” In March of this year, I suffered heart and lung problems. This meant eight days in hospital with five doctors. I had worn myself out. Trying to move several nonprofits forward to impact the future of my small town simply proved too much time, wear, and intense exhaustion. Thus, as my body was shutting down, all of my energy went to fighting for life. At this point, my beloved West Kentucky Journal, and you, faithful supporters and readers, were all pushed away. My doctors were kind to me. They didn’t lecture me about 40 years bad food habits or lack of exercise or too much stress in my life. They and I all knew that I was a perfect male baby boomer- making many bad choices with my life and not understanding that, at some point, these choices had to come to a halt. These men and women of medical science worked with me. They brought me back. Below are some of the issues that I worried over, wrote about or tried to lead others into action.
I worried over how all of these would impact my Kentucky, my West Kentucky, my Jackson Purchase Region, and my Clinton. By my training and work experience, I could connect all of the dots into a strategic stream of history and current events flowing into near term futures. Part of my professional life as a geographer, regional strategic planner, and futurist trained me for this way of life. I have worked for and given advice to four Kentucky Governors and two Presidents. However, long term exposure to the energy demands of wrestling with trying to bend the arc of history and frame the dimensions of new futures has a way of draining one of energy and sometimes, life itself. That was then. This is now. I took the month of August to seriously re-examine my public life. In these past six months of recovery, I feel like I have abandoned you, my readers and supporters, as the world goes into near term chaos. For this, I say to you again, “I’m sorry!” I hope you will give me another chance. The near temporal event lines flowing through 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 will set the stage for how America is positioned for the 21st Century. The American Experiment is yet again to be defined by the actions of a few of us who have the spirit, talent, and the vision for keeping our great America the land of the free. Thank you for caring!
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