Forget Cowboys; the world needs more Sams

It was a lousy night for a drive.

My wife Aimee and I had gotten a late start to begin with, as we lit out in the eye of a winter storm, heading for the 2023 Wyoming Press Association Annual Convention in Cheyenne. This year’s event was scheduled for mid-January at the Little America Hotel and Convention Center, and after white-knuckling it the entire trip, we finally rolled into the parking lot around 2 a.m., well after the rest of our colleagues at the Uinta County Herald (and probably every other paper in the state) had called it a night.

As we lugged our bags up the icy outdoor staircase that led to our room on the second floor, the glass door at the top of the stairs suddenly flew open, and a figure stepped out, holding the door against the bitter wind and ushering us inside. I turned to thank whoever it was, and found myself face-to-face with the smiling mug of Sam Smith, sportswriter and photographer for the Lovell Chronicle. What he was doing up at that hour, I have no clue; probably waiting for members of his own party to arrive. But I remember thinking I’d never been happier to see Sam in my life.