As a journalist, we get hit with a lot of requests to support worthy causes. It's rare that we can actually write about them, simply because there are so many. It would be unfair to write about one or two and ignore the rest.
It's tough sometimes to say no, but it's necessary.
My article on the front page of Sunday's Blade about Carl James Joseph, the barefoot apostle aka "The Jesus Guy" (see May 8 blog below, "On a Mission from God") actually came about when James' father, Louis Joseph, walked into the Blade unannounced asking for some help. He's 71 years old and wants to work but says no one will hire him because of his age. He lives in a condemned rental house and his wife left him 6 years ago when he lost his job (they're separated). He said he decided to move to Alabama to be near his son and to help build cabins that would house pilgrims to the shrine at EWTN, the global Catholic cable network.
What Mr. Joseph really wanted from me in the first place was an article saying he is looking to buy a 40-foot trailer for $2,500 to haul all his tools (for construction) and his vast collection of textbooks and manuals (to set up a library) to Alabama.
Louis Joseph added that he was not looking for a handout but only a low-priced, decent trailer.
He seems genuine, and although it may be a legitimate need, it's not something I could write about in The Blade.
Although it's not newsworthy, in the traditional sense, that topic is blog-worthy, in this new world of personalized online communications. And to be honest, I feel a bit obligated since Louis was the one who gave me not only a Page 1 article but the most talked about story in Toledo last weekend.
If anyone out there has a 40-foot trailer they are willing to part with for around $2,500 or less, please drop me a line and I'll connect you with Mr. Louis Joseph, who will be so thrilled that he can work again, even if it's for no pay, building cabins and setting up a place where people can use the 6,000-or-so textbooks he has collected on such topics as urgent medical care and small-engine repairs.
Below is a wonderful photo of James, the Jesus Guy, taken by Bob Farley for The Blade. It didn't make the print edition but it was included in a slide show on the Blade's website, www.toledoblade.com.

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Two families who mean a lot to me are going through crises and could use your prayers.
Scott and Judy Potter's 23-year-old son Ryan was in a head-on car crash and is hospitalized in intensive care at St. Vincent's Medical Center. He broke all his ribs but one on his right side, crushed his lung, and suffered some bleeding in the brain. Doctors are not sure about the long-term diagnosis but at least Ryan has survived the initial ordeal. Scott and Judy have been in the hospital almost around the clock. The Potters have a long road ahead of them.
Scott is a jazz trumpeter who plays with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra and has become a good friend of mine since I met him about 15 years ago.
Ryan's friends have set up a website that Scott & Judy update daily. Click here to read it.
Mike and Lynette Fisher's 12-year-old daughter Jocelyne is in Mott's Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor with a severe case of leukemia and then apparently had a heart attack and is in a coma. I cannot imagine the emotions of the parents but I know Mike and Lynette have tremendous faith.
Mike is a great musician and a church worship leader who has worked tirelessly to help bring Impact World Tour to the area. (Members of Team Xtreme, the musclemen who bend steel bars and break stacks of concrete blocks, went to Ann Arbor to pray for Jocelyne.)
You can read about her online here.
Please keep these two very special families in your thoughts and prayers.

Toledo, Ohio, May 8, 2007