National Review correspondent and SFPA executive director John J. Miller wrote a column today for The Detroit News about his recent move back to Michigan. Miller left the state to work in Washington, D.C. after graduating from the University of Michigan, but is now back to run the journalism program at Hillsdale College:
The novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) insisted that “You Can’t Go Home Again” — it’s the title of his best-known book as well as a phrase that has entered the American vernacular. He intended the line to mean several things, including the idea that returning home after a long absence can be a painful experience and perhaps isn’t worth it.
At a time when a rotten economy is forcing tens of thousands of Michiganians to leave each year, these new expatriates (and their families) are probably wondering if they’ll ever go home again. My guess is that even among those who are saying “good riddance,” many of them will want to return.
Sometimes it takes leaving a place to realize how much you miss it.
Read the whole thing here. As a lifelong Michigan resident (minus two stints in D.C. and Arizona for internships), I’m pleased to welcome a fellow Wolverine back to the Great Lakes state.
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