Triumph and Tragedy...a sad goodbye and a fresh start from Erik Huey a Friend and Blogger

Triumph and Tragedy...a sad goodbye and a fresh start

I let my good friend Keith Brown report this on Triad Watch simply because he continues to be a good friend. He was an early supporter of my failed school board campaign and we've developed a good friendship since then.

The truth is that when tragedy strikes in your personal life, things tend to happen. Sometimes not always for the best of circumstances. But I'm a firm believer of things happening for a reason.

Sadly, tragedy has stricken my personal life...in more ways than one.

I reported on GreensboroMetro back on July 14 of a situation where my family was linked to the horrific unearthing of human remains at a Chicago-area cemetery. We had at least eight relatives buried there. As of today, we still remain unable to verify records, nor verify if their plots are intact. This situation both is and remains in litigation with a local Chicago-area attorney. We're not seeking money. We're seeking closure.

I also reported on the fact that living paycheck to paycheck in our household was becoming rather strenuous and difficult for my family. It was now a harsh reality. As a journalist/PR professional by trade, it was hard to view the city of Greensboro (and the larger Triad metro area) as no longer having a creative class.

These two situations combined led to a personal decision to resign from the city's Planning Board back the very next day, in an effort to concentrate on the increasing stress in my family and household.

In addition, my father has been sick off and on. My parents are both retired and they both live in Las Vegas. His health has been slowly deteriorating as of the last few months with an ongoing struggle of Paget's disease. He still remains active and is still enjoying life but his health is starting to slow down just a tad.

And...as if nothing else could have happened, both sadly and suddenly, my wife & I have parted ways after nearly 10 years of marriage.

Since all of this has happened, literally within a matter of weeks, I have relocated (back) to Las Vegas, I actually lived here previously about six years ago.

I'm just now settling in and starting to come to grips with what has happened. I'm hanging in there as best I can and my daughter, who is back in NC with her mother, is being very strong through all of this too.

This was indeed very painful to compose, but I thought it was only fair to you, my friends. You deserved to know what had happened to me and where I've been.

But tragedy has indeed turned into triumph...where within the last few days, I have accepted a brand new position as a sales/marketing coordinator for PureOFlow by Pure Revolution, a ground-breaking water treatment/water filtration company in Las Vegas (www.pureoflow.com).

These are the types of good-paying, good-quality positions that SHOULD be in North Carolina...that SHOULD be in the Triad...that SHOULD be in Greensboro. But they're not.

Las Vegas may have everything associated with Las Vegas, including a competing furniture market...but they also have an extremely active creative class. Several networking groups are available on Facebook that provide networking opportunities in this city. But with the truth comes reality...if Greensboro doesn't jumpstart its creative class, many more will leave the Gate City. That's not a thinly-veiled threat...that's cold, hard truth.

But I don't want my story to be a poster child for why I left Greensboro or why things turned out unexpectedly the way they did. I will say this...I will always have a connection to North Carolina and you all will always be friends and family to me. I have made countless friendships on Greensboro. Those friendships don't die just because I'm across the country.

We will stay in touch. Look me up on Facebook or drop me a line at huey.erik@gmail.com.

I wish Greensboro and the Triad...and you, the very very very best in the months and years to come.

All the best from Las Vegas,

Erik C. Huey

Las Vegas, NV