Astrid Pizarro

12/7/11

Patrick May

Orlando, FLA. - Patrick May, 60, is a writer for the San Jose Mercury News and a man with a passion for writing with a lot of interesting stories behind his stories. His love for traveling is what actually led him to writing.

“I have traveled to 67 countries,” expressed May to a journalism class on Tuesday afternoon. May has traveled the world including Greece, South Arabia, Morocco and Egypt.

Patrick May dropped out of college to travel the world that got him to find an interest in journalism. At 30 years old, he headed to San Francisco State University to earn his journalism degree.

He got hired by the Jacksonville Times Union in which he covered tragedies from plane crashes to homicides. Not too long ago after that, he started working for the Miami Herald for 15 years.

May has written stories including the Gulf War, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 as well as other strategies. “The whole city smelled like death,” said May about the September ninth incident in World Trade Center.

Aside from experiencing tragedies, Patrick May has also met a few celebrities through his career. “It’s kind of a funny story, I met Bill Clinton in the men’s restroom,” stated May. He has also met Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey and Julio Iglesias.

May’s favorite piece was about a homeless man that died in Florida. He spent time putting his life together in order to write the story. He wrote a great story, however, it was never published because of the alcohol references.

Currently, May covers news for Apple Inc. for the San Jose Mercury News. It is not always easy as Apple does not mention much about their products as they like to keep it private. “With Steve Jobs’ death, they have opened a little,” expressed May.

Patrick May is a man that found his passion for writing and it has been accompanied by many experiences from tragedies to memorable situations.