Spring Cleaning, Memory, and a Note from JFK, Jr.

While spring cleaning and rearranging bookshelves this week, I came across this card from John F. Kennedy, Jr. I received it in 1997 or 1998 after I signed on to be a contributing editor at George magazine.
I spent two years writing regularly for that magazine. I traveled to Moscow to report and write about the Russan space program. I went dinosaur-bone hunting with Newt Gingrich. I shadowed Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota for a few weeks during his presidential campaign. I traveled to Arkansas and wrote about President Bill Clinton’s pals at Tyson Chicken. I interviewed Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb. I interviewed California governor Jerry Brown…and much more.
I was in India reporting a story for Wired magazine when I turned on the television and saw the report that JFK, Jr.’s plane was missing. I was in shock. I didn’t know John Kennedy beyond short talks with him during my visits to the editorial office to sit in on editorial meetings in New York. But my work for George was a time of growth for me as a writer. I’m grateful for that experience.

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Brad Wetzler

Brad Wetzler is an author, journalist, editor, book writing instructor, memoir coach and mentor, and yoga instructor. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, GQ, National Geographic, Newsweek, Wired, Men's Journal, Travel + Leisure, George, Best American Travel Writing, and Outside, where he was a senior editor and contributing editor. His book, Real Mosquitoes Don't Eat Meat, was a collection of columns he wrote for Outside.Brad writes, teaches, coaches, and mentors from his home in Austin, Texas. His memoir, Into the Soul of the World, will be published in spring 2023.
Brad Wetzler is an author and memoir writing coach. Make this the year you complete your memoir. Download the free "How to Tell a Great Story" e-book and schedule a free 30-minute consultation today.

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