Hi, I’m John MacKay. I live on Lazy Z Road with my wife Lorena, our dog Sophie, two great cats, more wildlife than I ever imagined, and some great neighbors.

We came here from Tampa, Florida, by way of rural Georgia. I thought Georgia would be a great place to retire - it was close to Florida and land was cheap. I knew the people there were super-religious – Christians of some sort – but I thought if I didn’t bother them, they wouldn’t bother me. Wrong on both counts! So we came out to Colorado for a look, and I fell in love with Nederland the first time I saw it. I actually said the words, “I was meant to be here,” and it was true. It took Lorena a little longer.

The move was rough. My friend Bill Q and I brought everything out here, and I spent two weeks in the new-to-us house. But when I went back for Lorena and the pets, the Cold Springs Fire took everything. We had to decide whether to stay put, move somewhere else, or come to Ned. We chose Ned. I wasn’t going to let the fire beat us, and I had no idea how unbelievably difficult it would be to rebuild. We eventually gave up on that and found our home on Lazy Z.

We still owned the burnt property and there was a lot of fire clean-up to be done. I found myself spending a lot of time at the Transfer Station; I liked it so much I got a job there. Donna Monacella was in charge.

I’m sure most of you remember Donna, she’s someone you’d never forget. She and her husband Mike are bikers, and I was a biker for many years, we really hit it off. Donna was the best boss ever, a sweet, kind person, and I love her to death! She and Mike eventually had to move away, and that’s what brought me to The Mountain-Ear.

I emailed the publisher and suggested she run a story about Donna’s leaving Ned. Barbara liked the idea, but had no one to write it. “I’ll write it,” I offered, and Barbara accepted. And then I never wrote it, I guess I should have asked Donna first.

But I did send her a story about Brian Biggs, another Transfer Station survivor and a very close friend. She must have liked it, because I’ve been writing Mountain Folk Tales columns ever since. I’m nosey, and we have some interesting people up here. Writing about them allows me to ask questions I wouldn’t otherwise ask. I write positive stories about mountain people, with no confrontation, conflict, or controversy (note the Oxford comma, I’m a big fan.)

Controversy has its place, specifically on the editorial page and in op-ed columns. I’d like to see more of it in The Mountain-Ear, and I would love to take a shot at that. Step on a few toes, ruffle some feathers, take a stand.

We’ve got our issues here in Ned. I think readers would enjoy reading what the paper, and its writers, have to say. Even if it pisses off some of the angry people on Facebook.