I first met John Mraz about this time last year.

I helped him rake his yard. I took a picture of us then and posted it on this blog. But that was before the "Paul's People" series. And so when I saw him yesterday, I thought I ought to take another one and include him in this collection.

Besides, I like him and intend to chronicle our aging with annual snapshots.

I have known John as a reader for years. Here's something he sent me in the summer of 2003. It's a perfect example of the sort of thing The Slice tries to capture now and then.

Little Moments That Put A Smile On Your Face Department: "I was headed home from work and was bogged down in the construction traffic around Sacred Heart hospital," wrote John Mraz. "My pickup window was rolled down and as I sat there waiting for traffic to begin moving again, I sneezed."

A guy washing out a chute attached to a cement truck yelled over his shoulder, "Bless you!"

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