(This week marks a milestone anniversary of this column. The first “Inside Sanpete” was published 30 years ago in the Sept. 14, 1994, edition of The Pyramid. To commemorate the anniversary (and to give me a break), we’re re-running a column from April 7, 2005.

At that time, I had recently received an award from The Utah Press Association. So, if it seems like I’m patting myself on the back – well, maybe I am. It’s my party, and I’ll pat myself on the back if I want to. Apologies to Lesley Gore, may she rest in peace. (In her song it was, “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to.”) Here is the April 7, 2005 column:

I gather that somewhere on the pages of this edition of The Pyramid there is a picture of me holding an award. I believe that in newspaper parlance, this is called a “grip and grin.”

I think the term came from the frequent pictures in newspapers of donation recipients and contest winners. The pictures show someone gripping a check and grinning because – well, hey – everyone likes money.

Being awarded a trophy for Best Feature Column in Utah for our circulation category is quite an honor. I believe that this is the first time anything of mine has been submitted to the press association competition. (It’s a good thing nothing was submitted before or I’d have to have a huge mantle to accommodate all the trophies. Yeah – right.)

Some of you out there may think that writing a weekly column is easy. I’m here to tell you that those “some of you” are absolutely right.

It’s child’s play every seven days to drag a suitable idea out of a nearly empty brain (forget “suitable” – any idea will do). It’s easy to pretend that you know something about something.

It’s simple to pound the keyboard and watch as 600 – 1,000 words magically appear on a computer monitor in the form of what gets called a column. Oh, and it needs to be ready before deadline time.

Okay, I’m being a little sarcastic. It’s not always easy. Some weeks I stare at the computer and scratch my head. Then, I rub my chin. Then, I stare at the wall. Then I turn on the television and watch sports.

Writing is something that most of us do to one degree or another. Around Sanpete many of us are encouraged to be writers. Some people (notably Mormon leader types) believe that everyone should be writing personal journals.

There are many people who feel like a daily diary is a good habit. Now THAT is grueling. A daily deadline.

I’ve been reading the biography of Neal A. Maxwell. He has generally been regarded as the writer and wordsmith extraordinaire of the LDS Church. He recently passed away.

Bruce Hafen was his biographer. After having been asked to write the biography at the time of Maxwell receiving an experimental treatment for his leukemia, Hafen had some reluctance about the project.

It made me personally feel better when I read this passage from the preface of the book where Hafen is speaking of Neal Maxwell, “…given the frightening uncertainty about his health, given that acceptable biographies can take years to document and write; given that he hadn’t kept a personal journal…”

My journal writing over the years has been “on again, off again.” Knowing Neal Maxwell wasn’t a perfect journal keeper has given me hope. (He had written a brief personal history, and of course, many letters, speeches, papers and books over the years.)

I believe that what each of us write will be interesting to someone – sometime. I know that having letters, notes, and journals that my parents wrote has been important to me and my family.

I don’t have any delusions that “Inside Sanpete” is interesting or helpful to everyone all the time. But I do know that some people are semi-interested some of the time. I know this because some readers are interested enough to write letters to tell me that I’m “up in the night.” (Little do they know that most of these columns are written when I’m “up in the night.”)

And then there is the occasional letter from a reader who has felt a connection by something I’ve written here. Sometimes it’s a memory from the past that has been brought to the surface. They thank me for the reminder. Some people tell me that they sometimes get a chuckle when the read my writing.

Those letters and comments, even the complaining ones, are the “awards” that mean the most to me. Thanks for reading! — Merrill