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Last week I had the privilege of meeting with some of Cobb's residents
that are involved in the Cobb Flag Project (see front page story this week).
This fantastic group of people welcomed me into their local meeting place
with open arms and were more than accommodating. They made me feel so
comfortable and for that, I thank you all!
I must admit, that Thursday afternoon, my mind was aflutter with thoughts.
Peg Pustina had emailed me earlier that day and said everyone would be
wearing a name tag. Holy cow, I thought, there's going to be so many people
to interview that they will all need name tags?!
The questions I wanted to ask everyone ran through my mind often. From
doing a little pre-interview research, I could tell just how important this project
is to the community members of Cobb. I had to ask all the right questions;
and then I had to write it and make it perfect.
But I was jumping ahead of myself. I got my notebook and camera ready
at 5:30 and headed over to Cobb. It was a short drive, and soon I opened the
front door to R Place Again, expecting a bunch of people to be gawking at
me. But that was not the case.
I was immediately greeted by Dee Wunderlin, who showed me pictures
she had taken at the Cobb Corn Roast Parade. Soon, Peg came over and introduced
herself. She was so excited that I was there!
Peg introduced me to just about every single person in the building, and
each person had a great story to tell. As I made my way around the large
gathering place, I heard from veterans, donors and other general supporters
of the project. I could see the story coming together in my mind.
After my final interview with Peg and Ske, I was ushered out of R Place
Again with a round of applause and a small American flag, which I have
hanging in my office at the Chronicle now. I couldn't stop smiling the entire
drive home! What an incredible bunch!
Thank you to everyone who came out and contributed to the story that
night. Although I didn't know anyone when I walked into R Place Again, I
left that night feeling like I knew something about you all.
As a reporter, there are some stories that you'll never forget. This will be
one of them.