Keep Throwing Pebbles

A farewell from Jerry LeClaire, founder of Indivisible — The High Ground

I am writing this from hospice care, knowing this will likely be my last post to you.

In May of 2021 I was diagnosed with stage 4 urothelial cancer. My oncologist has always been honest with me: ‘we don’t cure this cancer.’ I have held up through five rounds of treatment, but this is where that road has led. I don’t share this to elicit sympathy. No one gets out of this alive, certain myths notwithstanding. Having a clearer idea of one’s expiration date focuses the mind. What matters is what we do with the time we are given.

On the night of November 8, 2016, I went to bed with a deep sense of foreboding. By early the next morning, I was staring at my computer screen watching the election results when a text message appeared from my daughter-in-law. In five months, I was going to become a grandfather for the first time. She reminded me, “Even in the darkest of times there is a small light and hope.” That granddaughter was my small light and the inspiration for The High Ground.

What began as an apologetic email to twelve friends on January 6, 2017 grew slowly, almost entirely by word of mouth, into a community of more than 2,000 readers, most of us here in Eastern Washington. Along the way, many of you became more than readers. You became people I heard from, learned from, and came to know as friends.

None of this would have been what it became without Emily. She was my companion and my confidant. As my managing editor, she read and offered a detailed proof and critique of almost every post. If one slipped by without her reviewing it, it invariably contained several misspellings, one or two run-on sentences, and several bits of convoluted wording. The quality of what you read over these years owes much to Emily.

I have often thought of this work as throwing pebble after pebble into a pond, hoping the ripples would travel farther than I could see. Over time, you showed me that they do.

The time has come for me to pass Indivisible—The High Ground forward. I have not done this lightly. Many of you have already been reading Grant Fredericks in these pages. You know his voice. What you may not know is how much we share in the way we see Eastern Washington and the people who live here. We both believe that civic engagement is not optional, that those without power still deserve to be heard, and that caring for our neighbor is not a political position but a human one. That shared foundation is why I trust him with this work.

To my readers, I have a simple request.

Stay engaged.
Keep writing letters to the editor.
Keep talking with neighbors, friends, and family, even when it is not easy.
Keep paying attention to what is happening here at home.

And keep throwing pebbles.

Thank you for your time, your trust, and for reading.

As always, keep to the high ground.

Jerry LeClaire

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