Manifesto

Jan 17, 2004

Erin and I are getting the “What’s next?” line of questioning a lot these days as we all look to May, when I’ll have my masters degree and we’ll be ready for the next move. Honestly, I’m not ready for the packing-up-and-moving process – yesterday’s census of Anna’s stuffed animals was really a way to tally the stuff in our apartment that will have to be boxed and hauled.

People ask if I want to go home to Cleveland. “Sure, that would be nice,” I answer. “There’s family there, friends, cultural activities and a comfortable lifestyle.” Inside, I’m really thinking, ‘But Cleveland is a dying city. Why would I return to it?’

But then I read John Ettorre’s manifesto in the Free Times, and I shudder in embarassment that I could so easily give up on Northern Ohio. John’s clear vision of an uptick in Cleveland’s pulse is prophecy, and as before, when I got recruited by John to join PlanetKnowHow (a dot-bomb no longer on the web), I’m ready to get back in step with him. As he points out on his blog, Working With Words, even the Plain Dealer editor now has a blog. So perhaps Cleveland is the place for me – a place where I can apply my Peace Corps community development skills, my weblog late nights and my medical journalism degree.

I start looking for work February 15th. Stay tuned.

Anton Zuiker ☄