Editorial Page Editor Tom Chulski and I discussed earlier this week the challenge of finding something for the editorial page each Memorial Day.

We’ve both been in the newspaper business more than three decades. That’s a lot of Memorial Days.

Yet because we’ve written dozens of editorials on the topic of why Memorial Day is important, that doesn’t make the holiday any less relevant. Each year it’s just as important as the year before.

And since we’re currently at war, the holiday takes on even more significance.

This year, the task was made easier by Carleton resident John Durbin, who sent us a timely and well-written guest column reminding people to put aside their picnic baskets and turn off their television sets long enough to celebrate the holiday. It will appear in Sunday’s Evening News.

Oh, and Monday there will be an editorial from The Evening News, celebrating the patriotic men and women who have sacrificed protecting our liberties and reminding all of us that we have a responsibility, too.

This weekend, I have lots of yard work to do. And a few games to watch on TV. And I’d like to see the Indiana Jones movie. And we’ll probably fit in some grilling.

But we’ll make sure we set aside some time to think about my father, who served in Europe in WWII, and my wife’s father, who served in the Pacific, and our nephew in Iraq, and several other friends with children in harms way serving their nation.

I’m wrapping up a family vacation that was a little different this time.

I’ve been on vacations with my family at the beach before. But this time three of the five women were pregnant.

My two sons’ wives are due next fall, as is my daughter. Our number of grandchildren will double, from three to six, between August and December. There is a sort of symmetry involved. Our oldest is having her third. The next oldest is having his second, and the youngest is going to be a daddy for the first time.

There were four generations gathered together, because my mother joined us, too.

So what made this vacation so different?

Unless you’ve experienced it in person, you have no idea how many details there are involved in pre-, during and post-birth that need to be discussed.

And some of the details are, well, fairly personal.

But when three pregnant women are related, and gathered with their mother/mother-in-law and grandmother/grandmother-in-law, there are few inhibitions holding back the details, which get discussed over and over again.

I’m not complaining. I learned a thing or two. 

And you know that saying about how pregnant women have a sort of glow about them.  It’s true.

All three of them were beautiful, radiating with the joy of new life. 

And for all the complaining about nauseau and cramps and restrictive diets, it was wonderful being part of their lives for a few days.

An average story on monroenews.com gets anywhere from 500 to 2,000 page views.

Bigger stories get 3,000 to 4,000 page views, and occasionally a story will top 5,000 page views. The entire site only gets about 40,000 page views a day, and the most we’ve ever had on a day was 55,000.

So imagine my surprise when I glanced at the Web stats yesterday and saw our traffic for the day soaring above anything I’d seen before.

At 5 p.m., the site already had  50,000 page views and was projecting to top 80,000 for the day.

“What could be causing that,” I said to myself. I didn’t know of any big stories.

So I checked the individual story stats, and there it was. The story about a truck called King Kong by its owner - a very unusual truck, to be sure - had already topped 20,000 page views and the number was growing by the minute.

By this morning, it’s over 35,000 page views - more than the entire site gets on some days. And the monroenews.com Web site topped 82,000 page views for May 6 and was headed for similar numbers today.

So, what happened? It didn’t take long for me to figure it out. It’s called Fark.com.

If you’re not familiar with it, Fark.com is a Web site devoted to unusual stories. It’s kind of an on-line version of “news of the weird.”

Someone sent the King Kong truck story to Fark.com, where it was displayed prominently among their “Not News” stories of the day. As of mid-morning today, 28,500 page views on monroenews.com were referred from Fark.com.

In addition, another 11,000 page views were created when people clicked on the photo of the truck, to see the larger version.

It’s fun to have a local story get noticed on a national Web site, even if it’s only Fark.com. But that’s generally not where our traffic comes from.

Most visitors to monroenews.com and MonroeTalks.com come from the local area. We know that from their IP providers, which our system keeps track of.

Links to national Web sites create some one-time excitement. The last time we had a story go national - before yesterday our most page views ever - was the traffic stop of three University of Michigan football players last May when drugs were found in the car. That story received 14,000 page views, most coming from national sports Web sites.

I love it when things happen organically.

Both in the garden and in the real world.

Doug Russeau is a gardener who knows a lot about organically growing things. He’s spent his life working in nursery and landscaping businesses.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that when he starting sharing his gardening advice on MonroeTalks.com, other users began to take notice.

When “The Shepherd” talked, they listened. And eventually, someone suggested that Shep ought to have his own blog. It became a draft Shep movement.

Starting this weekend, Shep has his own blog on Blogsmonroe.com. I’m sure he’ll keep talking on MonroeTalks.com, too. But his blog, The Backyard Gardener, gives him his own spot to answer questions, offer advice and chat with other gardeners.

Shep, who is Doug Rouseau in real life, hopes to use a question and answer format for much of his blog. We’re setting it up with a prominent spot for folks to ask questions - through an e-mail link to Doug.

Of course, The Backyard Gardener isn’t our first gardening blog. All Things Green, by Judy and Bob Dluzen, has been around since the early days of Blogsmonroe.com. Together, the two blogs will give local gardeners a great resource.

I spent a few minutes this morning on the Alexander Zonjic radio show at the River Raisin Centre for the Arts. Mr. Zonjic is the morning host on WVMV-FM Smooth Jazz V98.7, and today he was broadcasting live from Monroe.

I was one of several Monroeites who were interviewed by the talented jazz flutist/dj. The point was to promote the seventh annual River Raisin Jazz Festival and the May 2 performance of Spyro Gyra at the River Raisin Centre for the Arts.

One of the themes of discussion between Mr. Zonjic and his guests was the remarkable success of the Jazz Festival and the winter Jazz Series in Monroe.

As I said on the air, Monroe is a surprising place. The ability to pull off a big-time jazz festival in our little town is just one more reason Monroe has a much higher quality of life than outsiders would expect.

On the surface, there is not much of a connection between Jazz and Monroe. Monroe was settled by the French, and so was New Orleans. And we both had famous War of 1812 battles. Anything else?

But somehow the River Raisin Jazz Festival, the winter Jazz Series and the summer Jazz Thursday nights have been big hits.

Surprising, but really cool.

There’s no doubt about it, the Big Read is a cool concept.

Getting thousands of people in one community to read the same book and then discuss it can be a powerful process - especially when the book is as thought-provoking as “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

The novel by Harper Lee explores racism in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s.

What’s that have to do with Monroe, Michigan, in the 20th century?

It was clear to me from the Big Read panel discussion on diversity last night that “Mockingbird” offers plenty of lessons for Monroe in 2008.

There seemed to be general agreement from the panel members that racism still exists in Monroe. It’s more subtle than 70 years ago. It’s closely tied to socio-economics - that is, the combination of poverty and racism together are a tougher foe than either by itself. But it’s still evident - in the segregation of the “East Side,” in achievement levels in school, in arrest and conviction rates in the judicial system.

One of the themes throughout both “Mockingbird” and last night’s discussion was that education is the most powerful tool we have in the battle against racism. The more people look beyond their narrow circle, the more they expand their horizons by reading and studying others’ thoughts and ideas, the more likely they’ll embrace people who aren’t like them and be tolerant of diverse cultures and lifestyles.

Another theme that ran through both the novel and the panel was the importance of parenting. Atticus Finch, the lawyer in the novel who defended a young black man accused of raping a white woman, constantly, patiently, explained to his children the importance of putting yourself in others’ shoes - viewing life from their perspective. It’s not an accident that Atticus raised thoughtful, respectful children, and his closed-minded sister raised spiteful, bigoted children.

Perhaps, in my opinion, the most important theme from the book and the panel was the interpersonal role we all can play. In “Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch wasn’t just a rich lawyer who defended poor black people. He was a friend and companion of everyone in his small town, whether they were black housekeepers or poor white sharecroppers.

A highlight for me of the panel discussion was the audience member (I wish I had caught his name, maybe someone can add it in a comment) who asked the panel members if any of them had personal friends of another race - implying that ending racism is a one-on-one issue.

I agree with the point he seemed to be making. Monroe County, for all its faults, is a wonderful place filled with caring, decent people. They’re quick to help a neighbor or a stranger, and they’re willing to step up and make a difference when needed.

For the most part, they live with the subtle racism that still pervades our community because it doesn’t touch their daily lives, doesn’t affect them in any way they notice. It’s easy to ignore something that you don’t see. If they were more aware of the problem, I’m convinced they would want to be part of the solution.

That’s why the Big Read and panel discussions like last night can be so valuable. They help us come face-to-face with issues we otherwise just let slip by.

Racism continues to be a serious problem in America. But we don’t have to look to the Mexican border or the inner city of Detroit to find it. It’s right here in Monroe County.

And the solution is right here, too. In education, in parenting, and in each of us.

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It was a privilege for me to be a member of the panel with Judge Pamela A. Moskwa, chief probate judge for Monroe County; Larry Arreguin, vice president of government affairs for VisionIT and chairman of the Hispanic/Latino Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party; Kelvin McGhee, Monroe City Council, third precinct; and Jeffrey Kodysh, editor of The Agora. Also thanks to MCCC and the staff of the Agora for hosting the event.

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If part of the problem is that Monroe County residents aren’t as aware of race problems as they should be, part of the blame must fall to The Monroe Evening News. What are your thoughts on what the newspaper and its Web sites should do to help raise awareness of race issues in the county. Please share them here, or send me a private note at danshaw@monroenews.com

Michigan Democrats are busy picking delegates to the national convention in August.

There seems to be a grim resolve to try to make the best of a disastrous comedy of errors that has disenfranchised the state’s Democratic voters.

State party leaders are going ahead with the process of picking delegates, bravely maintaining that they’ll eventually be seated at the convention.

But it doesn’t change the fact that the voters got screwed.

Squabbling between state and national party leaders led to a non-election in January. The national party told the candidates to boycott Michigan because it scheduled the state’s primary too early; Barack Obama complied and Hillary Clinton didn’t. So Clinton won the election and most of the delegates, but it wasn’t a fair contest and everyone knows it.

It didn’t matter when it looked like Clinton would easily win the nomination. But when Obama blew past Mrs. Clinton, taking a narrow lead in the number of delegates, the Michigan mess became a national problem, not just a local embarassment.

Now state and national Democratic leaders are trying to work out a compromise to give some of the delegates to each candidate in a negotiated settlement.

But, from the perspective of Michigan voters, that’s simply, well, a pile of crap.

State Democratic leaders shouldn’t have gambled with the integrity of the primary in the first place.

When they saw what a mess they had created, they should have held a second election or statewide caucuses. They had several months to figure out a way to let voters express their will.

Now that it’s too late to do it right, they’re trying to reach a compromise. But it’s too late. Any deal that claims to express the wishes of Michigan’s Democratic voters will be bogus.

We’ve always wanted comments from readers on our news stories.

That’s why we encourage letters to the editor. It’s why reporters’ e-mail addresses are included on most stories. And it’s why we started MonroeTalks.com, which serves as a public discussion site.

But since we launched the modern version of www.monroenews.com two years ago, we’ve struggled with the technology that allows readers to comment at the end of news stories.

Now that feature is working.

Readers can comment at the end of any story on monroenews.com. The launched the feature a couple days ago, and readers already have found it. There are a number of comments already.

This isn’t meant to replace MonroeTalks.com as a place to comment on the news. Both locations - at the end of a story and on MonroeTalks - provide readers with a forum for airing their opinions.

I can imagine, for example, making a specific comment on a news story, then moving over to MonroeTalks.com to start a topic discussing broader issues raised by the story.

This is all part of the Web 2.0 experience sweeping the Internet. People are willing to sit back and let someone else tell them the news any more. They want to provide their own two cents. And in the give and take, a more complete picture of the news can surface - if you’re willing to sort through the chaff to find the wheat.

Within five minutes into my run today, I knew something wasn’t quite right.

I felt tired, lethargic. I wanted to stop.

But I perservered. Anyone who runs knows that sometimes there are days like that. The best thing to do is just keep running; often the feeling goes away and what starts out as a dreadful experience turns into a great one.

But that didn’t happen today. I kept going, completing my 5-mile loop. But it was hard.

Then, as I sat in the kitchen drinking a glass of cranberry juice, it hit me. I gave blood yesterday.

And it wasn’t the normal pint. I did the “double red blood cell” thing. It involves taking about twice as much blood, running it through a centrifuge to separate out the red blood cells, then pumping the plasma back into you.  They don’t allow you to give blood again for twice as long, so I imagine it takes more out of you physically.

I asked the nurse, a tall, strapping guy named Mike, if it was okay to run the next day after giving blood. He said, sure, just to drink plenty of liquids.

Well, he’s right. It didn’t seem to hurt me. But it sure slowed me down.

Other than it’s affect on my next-day run, giving blood was again a great experience.

The Rotary Club sponsored the blood drive at the Monroe YMCA. As a member of the club, I work at the blood drive each year and it’s a real joy. So many people donating a few minutes of their day and a pint of their blood to save someone else’s life. And most do it with a smile and a look of satisfaction. It’s a great room to spend a few hours working in.

Whether volunteering - my job yesterday was helping folks get snacks and a beverage after they donate - or giving  blood, it’s one of those experiences in life that causes you to walk a little lighter the rest of the day (no pun intended), knowing that you’ve done a good thing.

And it’s one of the easiest ways to feel good. You just lay there on a cot for a few minutes, watching the bag slowly fill with blood. You can’t help but imagine where your blood is going, and who will benefit from your donation.

When you give double red blood cells, it’s even more rewarding. You watch the blood fill one bag, then go into the cenrifuge and come out, filling another bag with plasma. After a few minutes, you feel the pump switch, and it begins sending the plasma back into your arm. The tube changes from red to pale white. You feel a little tingle, starting in your arm and spreadng through your body. It’s not a bad feeling; more interesting than anything else.

When the plasma bag is empty, the process reverses again, the tube changes back to red and the blood bag begins to fill. After the plasma bag empties a second time, you’re finished.

And as you step down from the cot, you know that someone, somewhere, may live because they desperately needed a transfusion of red blood cells - and you took a few minutes out of your day to help.

That’s quite a feeling.

There are more than 2,000 registered users of MonroeTalks.com, and about 300 of them are regular talkers on the “Your Talk” forums. About 50 are very frequent talkers.

The leading poster, “cc,” is approaching 5,000 posts since the site was launched last June. (Seems like we should have a party and award a gold watch or something when the milestone is hit.) Four others have more than 4,000 posts, and six others more than 3,000.

In addition to the registered users, there are something approaching 10,000 unique visitors to the site each month. In other words, a few people post most of the content, but many people read it.

Any regular reader of the forum knows many of the regular talkers as if they’re next-door neighbors. Their character comes through in their posts, and many have very entertaining personalities.

There’s a natural curiousity about what they’re “really” like.

That’s one reason I enjoyed very much getting a chance to meet a half-dozen of them Friday morning over coffee at Cafe Classics. Another reason is that all were just as interesting in person as on-line.

In some ways, the MonroeTalks experience will never be the same - now that I know what they really look like, I’ll see a real face in my mind when I read their posts, instead of that imaginary image.

Several of the talkers who joined me for coffee Friday said the same thing. The experience changed dramatically for them when they met many of their fellow talkers at a MonroeTalks gathering.

We talked briefly at the coffee shop about why MonroeTalks.com is so successful. Someone - I don’t remember who it was - gave the most obvious answer. It’s because of the people.

Because the talkers are characters, real-life personalities with the full range of human traits, from wit and charm to anger and jealousy, the content of MonroeTalks is fascinating.

Some of it is thoughtful and articulate. Much is inane and just plain silly. But it’s all real. Except the part that is fake. And there is no way to tell the difference, just as in real life.