Introducing himself—Bill Lohmann’s first column

Boy, things really are changing quickly in the newspaper business.

A year ago, I was minding my own business, writing features for the Flair section and, when I could swing it, going out on the road for stories with photographer Bob Brown.

A few months later, my friend Jann Malone retired, and I volunteered to try to fill her oven mitts as the food writer. Can't say I fully achieved that, but I didn't burn my fingers and, as best I can tell, I didn't sicken any readers with misguided cooking advice -- although there was an unfortunate incident involving a spoonbread recipe and a little too much baking powder.

Now, here I am.

I'll be occupying this space on Wednesdays and Fridays, aiming to enlighten and entertain, or, failing that, offering a tidy target for your parakeet. I'm not kidding. Try lining your birdcage with the Internet.

My assignment is to write about little slices of life that make it interesting to live here. Goodness knows we can use such diversions.

The economy's in the tank. Gas prices have been rising again. Upheaval seems to rule the world. Plus, the transmission is shot, and the refrigerator died (and that's just at my house). We're one runaway dog from a full-blown country song.

For those who might not know, I'm new to the Metro section, but not to the paper. I came to work for The Richmond News Leader in 1988 and joined the Richmond Times-Dispatch when the papers merged in 1992.

But I go back even farther.

I was in fifth grade when I took an after-school job in the late 1960s delivering The News Leader so I could earn a little pocket money to purchase such extravagances as Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars. They were $9.95 at the time.

It all seems so quaint now: a kid delivering newspapers, sneakers for less than $10 a pair, and two daily papers in the same city.

When I outgrew the Chucks and the paper route and determined I couldn't hit a curve ball or touch the rim, I came to this conclusion: If I couldn't play sports for a living, I'd like to write about them. My first newspaper job was in Charlottesville. I spent autumn Friday evenings covering high school football games in places such as Palmyra and Stanardsville.

Then I came to another conclusion: I didn't much care for the nights and weekends worked by sports writers, or the fact I could no longer be a fan. So, I hired on at United Press International and worked in Orlando -- yes, I covered Donald Duck's 50th birthday, along with numerous space shuttle missions -- and Atlanta, where I chronicled a wide range of goings-on, including one of the great tragedies of our time: the introduction of New Coke.

Since coming home to Richmond, I've had the privilege to write about hundreds of wonderful people, from Thomas Cannon, the "poor man's philanthropist," to Morton Adelanski, deaf and dauntless, who lived a life more full than most of us could even imagine.

I took leaves of absence from my job to stay home with my children when they were young and write about the experience, and then traveled cross-country with my wife and three kids -- and came back -- for a series called "Are We There Yet?"

The answer is: Not yet.

I'm hoping to meet more people like Tom and Morton -- people who make our community richer -- and share their stories with you. A newsman I admire has always said, "It's a good day for the paper when we introduce readers to someone they didn't know." I'll try to provide some good days.

Oh, and about that spoonbread recipe: Try four TEASPOONS -- not tablespoons -- of baking powder.

Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or .