Wyoming Press Association

I had a blast at the Wyoming Press Association's annual convention in Casper — especially on the last night when a large group of people stayed up into the wee hours of Sunday morning to jam on guitars, hang out, but mostly just drink more than what is recommended by the Surgeon General.

(No one was driving, so we were good).

The highlight, though, had to be when Tom Hallman, Jr., a ridiculous (in a good way) reporter and writer for The Oregonian, Pulitzer Prize winner, and all around great guy, taught me to play the Allman Brothers' classic, "Melissa" on acoustic guitar.

At 4 a.m.

When he had a plane to catch at 6.

Can't say enough about Hallman, I've now seen him twice, the first time when he hosted a one-day workshop on narrative writing in Missoula, Mont. He's really shown me the light when it comes to how to report, visualize and construct narrative stories. I'm excited to work on some projects in the next couple weeks that incorporate the techniques he's taught.

But on Saturday, well, Sunday morning, I was just thrilled to have him to teach me how to play one of my favorite songs... Thanks Tom!