The Montgomery Humane Society raised a little over $14,000 with the wrapping stations at the Shoppes at EastChase and Eastdale Mall this year. Last year, they raised about half that. Kudos to all the staff and volunteers! Also, kudos to EastChase and Eastdale for hosting the stations.

My father used the wrapping service and on Christmas, presented me with one of the gifts: a scuba tank (63AL Luxfer). The wrappers at EastChase couldn't have known that when they were telling this reporter about some of the more memorable things they had wrapped, that the scuba tank was actually, eventually, to be mine.

Was at Capitol City Tattoo today, interviewing a couple of the tattoo artists who work there. The place is huge. I was surprised that the work is done in private rooms, and I was impressed by the people who work there.
I kind of dropped in on them, so they were nice to let me have so much of their time. I know nothing about tattoos, but I can't say I was completely unaffected by their artwork. Some of it was truly stunning.

One of the funny things about working on a weekly section to the paper is that I'm already thinking about January. New Years, resolutions, etc. The section we're working on right now will come out on the 26th, so I'm gathering suggestions for New Years Eve parties and calling bars and restaurants to see if they have anything going on. There will be plenty of places to party, as well as plenty of champagne.
Is New Years only for adults? I remember as a kid watching the television until midnight, then being sent to bed, but I can't remember any parties...

Another really good person: Thyno Zgouvas. In today's East section, he's the top story. Well, his lights are the top story. Every year, he makes more elaborate light shows at his house. You should see it. Start with this video.

I usually write just for the weekly East section, though once in a while I get assignments for the daily paper. Today, on 2A, is a story I wrote about Richard Gomez. One of his grandchildren died in a house fire last March. While Christmas will be one of the hardest times for his tight-knit family, they've turned around and provided Christmas for a family much needier.

You read the story at it might be heartwarming or interesting. There are people out there who do things without fanfare. Mr. Gomez had no intention of attracting the media, but when we were told the story (by Principal Keith of Dalraida Elementary, who was wonderfully beside herself), he was very nice to speak with. No surprise. He was humble and soft-spoken. He was sad about his granddaughter but smiled when talking about how she just sang all the time, everywhere. She loved music. She was a very happy child. In part because of her, seven local children are going to have more gifts than they've ever dreamed of. Six each.

I met one of those children, and he was small, very sweet, and a little sad. Principal Keith called him into her office to see how he was doing, and his eyes never left her face when she was smiling and asking what he'd eaten for lunch, small questions. He was all "yes, ma'am," "no, ma'am" and concentration. They hugged on farewell as Mr Gomez and I watched. When the boy left, all our eyes were damp.

Principal Keith knows these children, and knew the moment she was asked which family she'd like to have "adopted" for Christmas. That child was on her mind immediately, and he's stuck in mine.

Last week, I reported on the Baptist Christian Ministry's charity dodgeball tournament at AUM. It was all good fun, but the story would not have been nearly as fun without the photos (thanks, Bundy!) and video (thanks, Brad!).

I particularly like the profile of dodgeball glory video. The other is more straight news-like.

A while ago, I wrote an article about the Chapel of the Annunciation at Holy Cross Episcopal School on Bell Road. The story was about how St. John's Episcopal Church, in downtown Montgomery since the 1830s, discovered an abandoned chapel in a regular shotgun house on Plum Street. For decades, the house had been running down and neglected, its steeple long gone and its beauty obscured by a false ceiling. The church got a phone call one day and a woman claimed that this mere hovel had once been a chapel of some sort. When St. John's investigated, the woman's claim turned out to be true.
The church rallied around the cause and raised funds to salvage what they could of the chapel, and then rebuild it on the then-new campus of Holy Cross school.

I love that story, and how the people in the story took such pains to make it all happen.

It's almost no surprise that one of the ways the chapel is now being used is as a place of worship for a "start up" church...

Yesterday, I interviewed an Air Force chaplain who is stationed at Maxwell in a regular staff position. He's a member of the Orthodox Church in America, and has recently taken the responsibility to help a mission station here in Montgomery grow into a church. The mission station was actually started by local families who had been commuting to Birmingham for services. For a few months, the group met in private homes but now, they get to meet at the Holy Cross chapel on Sundays. It's a turning point for them.

I guess it's the writer in me who loves that this chapel, which was forgotten (or hiding?) for so long is now not only the focal point of a campus but also serves as a home for a congregation that is putting so much effort into growing their church. There are so many parallels to the story, it lends itself well to analogy: you've got this old, forgotten architecture that becomes a loving, integral part of a school; and then you have an ancient faith that is establishing itself today in a vibrant way. For both stories, the amount of dedication (to the building, or to the congregation/ church) is enormous.

Every year, the Montgomery Humane Society is stationed at Eastdale Mall and the Shoppes at EastChase to wrap gifts for donations. Today is the first day for the EastChase location, over next to Portrait Innovations, near Storkland and The NameDropper.
Here is the official schedule from the humane society.