Four more weeks to go

July 10, 2007
Andy Boyle, Erie Times-News in Erie, Penn.

I'm going into last stretch of my internship out here -- four weeks to go.

When I look at some of my first writing when I got here and compare it to something from yesterday, I cringe. When I look at something from a year ago, I grimace. They've really helped me to excel as both a writer and a journalist. (plug: Hey, you should apply to work here next summer/year!)

But Erie is lacking in one huge area that has made it almost unbearable a few nights -- it's not Lincoln.

I love that town more than anything in the world. I grew up an two and a half hours to the north east in South Sioux City, but Lincoln was always the place to go. Girls' basketball championships, summer camp, Cornhusker Boys' State, Masonic All-Star Marching Band -- it was all in Lincoln.

All of my amazing memories are in Lincoln. I fell in and out of love there, I discovered Chipotle and Amigos (read: Shmigos) and I performed Mozart's Requiem. I got to run on the field with the football team, cheer in the stands and have a cold one with my older sister after Texas stomped us.

I rediscovered my passion for writing there (well, it was more on a long drive back from a Ben Folds' concert in Omaha with a lot of discussion with a nice woman). I made my biggest mistakes as a human being and some of my greatest accomplishments in the Star City.

And sometimes that's hard to deal with. I have friends out here and some new traditions. Like tonight is Brew Erie night, and we interns will eat $2 brats and $4 brat pizzas. I have my Friday Calamari's lunch that consists of a "The usual" (a cheeseburger) with a side of ranch.

I've got my daily routine of showing up to the paper earlier than I should, reading the paper and getting everything done. Thursday is library day and Saturday is read-in-the-morning day.

But I still miss Nebraska. Two of my buds came and visited me about a month ago and it was a nice reprieve to have them around for a weekend. But it just made me miss home more.

Don't get me wrong, Erie is pretty sweet. I rode roller coasters on Sunday and didn't even leave the city limits. Can't do that in Lincoln.

But I also can't go to O'Rourke's in Erie, my favorite Lincoln night spot. There's no Lied Center or City Union. And gosh darnit, there's no Daily Nebraskan couch to take a nap on.

Four more weeks and I get to travel back to Nebraska, and then another two before I can move to the great Star City. I can't wait.

 

Andy Boyle
Andy Boyle will be a senior broadcasting and news-editorial major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this fall. He is working at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Penn., this summer, and during the fall he will work as the Daily Nebraskan's web editor and multimedia content manager. Email Me , View All Andy's Entries