In the olden days - back before I got axed by The Tampa Tribune - by Wednesday I would have already been sweating about what I was going to write for the following Sunday.

I'm not complaining, mind you. I was relatively well compensated. But that's what it's like to be a columnist. There is always, ALWAYS, a deadline lurking.

It's like having a monkey on your back or a panther on a branch overhead.

Now, with a blog of my own and a free pass to contribute to the popular Tampa blog, sticksoffire.com,  I can write when I want - or not write when I want.

It's hard to get used to the freedom.

And there were always constraints before.

No one told me what to write. But they let me know what they didn't want me to write about.

Bob Williams was one guy they had gotten tired of.

I've written about him a ton of times.  He may be a nut, obsessed with what he does (send stuff to troops in the war zone), but how many people do you know who actually walk the walk instead of talk the talk? Not very many.

So when I found  Williams I couldn't help trying to help him out.

There are others I've written about through the years.

Connie Sikkema is again trying to put together a back-to-school outreach program for the children of Hillsborough County's migrant workers.

No doubt she'll have problems again this year because of the anti-immigrant fervor that seems to be sweeping the country.

Sincerely Santa will be gearing up soon, as well.

I included a link to the group's website, which is being constructed as we speak. I would link you to some of the multiple columns I've written about the group, but they've disappeared.

I guess the point of all this is that I still want to write about all these tiny organizations that don't have PR machines. The blog is one place to do it. Sticks of Fire is another.

Are there other roads to take to get the word out about these little groups besides the standard, labor intensive, volunteer PR campaigns?

Can you think of one?

If so, let me know.