His name is Michael Powelson, and if you use social media at all and you live in West Virginia you may not know his name immediately but you surely will recognize the title of this blog post:

1 Shining Moment for a 2-Sided State

I never asked Michael how many hits his blog received when he posted this — his first post — but to date the post has nearly 300 comments and is still going strong.  It is almost unheard of for established bloggers with thousands of regular readers to get this many comments on a single post (think CNN.com), but here comes unassuming Mr. P and blows it out of the water.

1 Shining Moment is a very personal reflection on being a West Virginian that struck a powerful chord with natives, transplants, “still here-ers” and “want to go back-ers.”  Using the WVU men’s basketball coach as a vehicle for exploring the complex nature of shared cultural identity, Michael spoke to what so many people feel deep inside but often can’t articulate:  We care what you think, but we don’t really care what you think.  We know who we are, and whether anyone else ever understands us or not, we will always have each other.  West Virginia is a family, and the phenomenon of 1 Shining Moment demonstrated once again that eternal truth.

In perpetuity, we belong to each other.

Michael’s long-awaited second post is now up on  his site, and he most graciously made it a part of the Essays on Childhood project this year.  It’s up via the EOC site here, or you may visit his site directly and read the hilarious sibling warfare, hijinx, and righteous bonding over cough drops and yodeling by clicking here.

Enjoy, and many thanks to Michael for connecting to all of us with his wonderful writing and storytelling!  Michael, if you thought we were going to let you stop writing, you were sorely mistaken my friend.  What’s next?