So back in September I was applying for federal judicial clerkships. I interviewed with one judge, but didn't get an offer. Every other Court of Appeals judge in the United States has filled his or her clerkship spots for next year.

Or so I thought.

This week, the Office of Career Services informed us that there is one judge who still is accepting applications. There wasn't much information about him, but it all looked good. With one exception: he's in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Now, I was born and raised in Utah. My grandfather was born and raised in Wyoming. My outdoors-oriented family has spent quite a lot of time in the mountains of western Wyoming, and it's a beautiful, wild place. Unlike many of my HLS colleagues, I have nothing against rural areas per se (at least for a one-year clerkship stint), and certainly nothing against the West. I don't think of Wyoming as hicksville or backwards or anything.

But I still can't imagine myself living in Cheyenne for even a year. I don't know why. Maybe after my years on the East Coast I really am too urban for a city of 55,000 (that's a mid-sized football stadium). It's partially the weather I know they have in Wyoming (but then again, how can it be worse than Massachusetts)? Cheyenne is different from Evanston or Jackson; it's on the eastern end of the state--more of a plains area than a mountain area. I haven't really ever spent much time in Cheyenne (I stopped there for lunch once because it's halfway between Salt Lake and Omaha), but I am not impressed. I decided not to even apply.

I'm sorry if you, dear reader, are from Wyoming, or love someone who is. I just don't want to live in Cheyenne. Forgive me.

Since I'm talking about Wyoming, here are some random Wyoming-related snippets that float around in my head.

* After a loss to the University of Wyoming in a big fat Laramie blizzard, LaVell Edwards said, "I'd rather lose and live in Provo than win and live in Laramie." (Laramie is very close to Cheyenne.)

* A good high school friend of mine, when asked to complete the sentence "Success is . . ." offered the following: "Success is like Wyoming; you never know when you're there." (This might only make sense to Utahns--sorry.)

* The title of this post is in reference to a web-based ad for American Express, featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman that, upon Googling, seems to be no longer available.