(Mona caught me at Aliso beach, watching the sunset and reflecting on our day of service.)

When I was a kid I had a habit of reading ahead. I may not have been the best math or science student, but I loved my English classes and I’d zoom ahead of the reading assignments. I don’t remember any of the stories I came across in that grade school reader, but one continues to stick out in my mind — and it’s a story I’ve absorbed many times since then in other forms from documentaries to books. It’s the story of how a young, charismatic preacher from Atlanta reluctantly agreed to be nudged into the national spotlight to lead bus boycotts in his new parish in Montgomery, Alabama. It was also a story of how a brave black woman riding the bus home from work got sick and tired of segregation and refused to give up her seat for a white person.

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Last year, Mona and I did our inaugural Halloween vlog as Alice Cooper and, uh, well, we’re still trying to figure out the other character, but you get the idea. Anyway, coming up with an idea last year was much easier. This year, we batted around tons of ideas, but while I could come up with plenty of solo ideas it was harder to do them as a couple (and, yes, Mona shot down my second annual request to go as Frankenberry). So Mona put the question to Facebook nation and they, uh, well, I’m still trying to figure this out, suggested Sonny and Cher.

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When I started this blog it was part of my job. My boss then – Tony Dodero – wanted all of us on staff to segue into the new media and I was glad to do it since I already had a high ‘net consciousness when I helped him launch the company’s new websites for the local newspapers.

A lot has happened since then. And, I have to admit, I didn’t contribute as much to the blog at first because I was so busy with other responsibilities.

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