I Was There

Today is the anniversary of the death of Rocky Mountain News columnist Greg Lopez, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver on March 17, 1996, at the age of 35. I never met him – only knew him through his words, which I imagine is pretty close to the same thing. I thought it fitting to reprint this job application letter he sent in 1987 while working as a reporter in New Iberia, La., asking for a job at the Detroit News. He got the job. The letter comes from the fantastic anthology of his work, "What's Going On?" published posthumously by his wife.



Mr. Fancher: The place to start, I think, is the night Robert Mendoza walked into Papa Joe's with his ear in his stomach. I was there.

This…