Follow that hunch!

If I told you that I am an investigative journalist, I would be a liar.

Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I can tell you I'm a good journalist.

I'm pretty good at the slam, bam, when's the next flight kind of coverage, but the long-term stuff, the 'following your nose' til it leads to a story...not my forte.

But in my relatively brief, moderately successful career thus far, I have occasionally visited by cetain flashes of insight. They usually happen like this:

A group of journalists are standing around:

a) the office
b) the burnt remains of someone's home
c) a bar

and everyone's talking about:

a) who kidnapped the little blonde girl in (pick your state)
b) why they hate their profession
c) how Hillary Clinton is going to get 'trounced and bounced'

Now right off the bat, I can tell you, there is no sudden flash of insight that accompanies b) why they hate their profession.

If they had been visited by that particular insight, they would no longer be standing around the burnt remains of someone's home.

However, every once and while, in the midst of one of these conclaves of excellence, I would pipe up with my wild (and mostly uninformed) theory.

For example: In the fourth week after the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, the aforementioned little blonde girl in Utah, a group of us were standing around the office throwing out theories. Mine?

"Oh, she probably got kidnapped by some wacky Mormon polygamist seeking a young bride..."

And everyone, myself included, laughed.

But imagine if I had followed that lead. Say I had walked around Salt Lake City asking people on the street "now who's the creepiest dude with the biggest beard that you know?"




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Smart_kidnapping

I still think about that one.

The latest one of these little 'flashes' came to me Sunday night in the middle of a heated discussion about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Specifically, how she was going to get her ass kicked right out of New Hampshire. The evidence? "Look at the polls," my friend said "he has a double digit lead!"

To which I said, cynically "Oh, those polls are full of shit."

And again, everyone, myself included, laughed.






Clinton Victory Makes Fools of Doubters







Now, some might call this coincidence, or random luck, and use as their evidence a Googling monkey And I might even agree.

But every once in a while, all that information that journalists cram into their cortex during a particular news cycle will sink into the subconscious, swirl around, break down and re-form, only to pop out of one's mouth two beers into an evening.

Call it a gut check, call it a hunch...I personally like to call it the Force.

But whatever you call it...listen.

You never know.