I was honored to be in the company of about 10 neighborsgo readers and contributors, who made the trip over to the Starbucks on FM 1382 in Cedar Hill.

I don’t care what superstition dictates – Friday the 13^th was a very lucky day for me.

We had a nice, two-hour conversation about everything neighborsgo – what they liked, what they didn’t like and what they wanted to see more of in print and online.

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I’m going to play a little hooky from work Friday the 13th, and I’d like you to join me. Mind you, I’m not recommending that you play hooky from work, oh no. I know you need those paychecks – and besides, that would be downright unprofessional, wouldn’t it?

But if you have some free time around 2 p.m., come on by the Starbucks in Cedar Hill at 445 E. FM 1382 in the Albertson’s shopping center.

Together we can sip French Press coffee (the brew is on me!) as we discuss neighborsgo and neighborsgo.com. I want to know what works, what doesn’t work, and what you would like to see us become as we evolve in the future.

Neighborsgo simply wouldn’t exist without you, and speaking personally, I’d like to know what I do right and what I do wrong. Don’t worry about sparing my feelings, I’m a big boy.

So if you have an hour or hour-and-a-half to kill, stop by and we’ll talk.

In other news, I wrote whimsically last week about the upcoming transition to digital television, but it really is a serious issue when you get down to it.

This week I met with Larry Taylor, who works for U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, and he and a bevy of other officials filled me in on what’s to come if you aren’t ready for the change.

They spent a couple of hours and the sparkling new LancasterLifeCenter on Veterans Memorial Parkway educating local seniors about the change.

Thomas Wyatt of the FCC was effusive in his praise of the turnout, saying the folks in Lancaster came more prepared than any other group he has addressed anywhere else.

He was particularly impressed that LifeCenter staff stood by after the seminar to register seniors for their digital TV converter box coupons.

On his tour of senior facilities around the country, he said no one else had taken that extra step toward helping folks get connected.

I’d like to thank Mark James of the LifeCenter for greeting me and showing me around a bit.

Are you ready for the change from analog to digital? Tell me about your experiences at neighborsgo.com.

In the meantime, why not take some time to get connected, yourself, by visiting me at Starbucks this afternoon. See you there!

One of the things I hate most in life is going to the grocery store. When the weekend comes and I'm told it's time to head back out to refill our pantry and refrigerator shelves with food that I will inevitably not eat and have to throw out, I shuffle off like a sulky kid whose mom tells him those jeans with holes in the knees and that T-shirt with the torn image of the cast of The Partridge Family aren't OK for schoolwear.

I can't stand the long checkout lines. I have no patience for slow-walking down every aisle. I appreciate coupons, but I loathe sorting through them. I'd rather pay and go.

But you know what? There's a certain type of grocery store I could spend all day in.

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This week's Best Southwest Editor's Note tackles a couple of upcoming projects for Mother's Day and our first-ever Student Edition. Also, I try to make up for an editing mistake in something that ran in the April 19 print edition.

So read on, Best Southwesters!

We’ve got a couple of special projects coming up in neighborsgo-land, and I want the Best Southwest to be on top of things.

Up first is our Mother’s Day edition, scheduled to publish May 10. We want to know who the mom superstars are out there. I realize that very few can actually run faster than a speeding bullet or fly or jump over buildings (but a few might!), but I’d like to know how you feel about your mothers, how indispensable they were as you grew up (or area growing up now) and how they helped you get through life.

You don’t have to be a child to take part in this. We welcome submissions from mothers themselves, or maybe fathers who have something special to say about them.

Let us know by posting a story, photo or video of your mom on neighborsgo.com. Be sure and include the words SUPER MOM in the title or tag line, and we’ll do the rest.

The winning mom will be featured in the May 10 edition and receive a special prize.

The second thing coming up, one I introduced you to last week, is our Student Edition set for print May 17.

We invite students, teachers and parents to post the best work of their students or children online for inclusion in the print edition.

The only catch is the information has to be posted to www.neighborsgo.com in order to see the light of day in print.

Students have to be at least 13 years old to sign up for an account on the site in order to have their work submitted. But parents and teachers can sign up in the name of younger students and post their work.

Like I said, this isn’t limited to student journalism. Its work any written work you are particularly proud of. Sadly, this probably excludes solving complex math equations  -- which is a joyful experience in itself -- but just about anything else is fair game.

Any work submitted in kindergarten through the 12^th grade is eligible, so let’s get cracking because the May 9 deadline is zooming up on us.

For more information, go to neighborsgo.com/blog/studentedition.

And finally, I have to apologize for a mistake I made in last week’s print edition. In Carolyn Campbell’s delegates column, I got the titles wrong for U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice-Johnson and State Rep. Helen Giddings.

When editing the story, I reversed their positions in the U.S. House and Texas legislature, and inadvertently demoted one and promoted the other. This is my mistake alone, not Campbell’s or neighborsgo copy editor Lindsay Goll’s.

I regret the error and apologize to all involved.

This just in from Duncanville's Steve Martin, one of the major movers and shakers behind the gigantic girls basketball tournament held during the holiday season in Duncanville.

In brief, he wants a lot of you to show up at the school board meeting tonight! Now this from Steve:

It is important that we have a large public showing at Monday night's DuncanvilleSchool Board meeting. That is, if you cherish traditions in our cty such as the Sandra Meadows Classic. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the TechnologyCenter. (Old city library across the parking lot from City Hall)

Let me explain why: As most of you may or may not know, the DISD Athletic Department approached the Lions Club four years ago about taking over the operations of the Sandra Meadows Classic.

The reason why is because Mansfield started a Christmas tournament at the same time and their Rotary Club was involved and they offered teams such as Canyon and Amarillo free hotel rooms to play in their new tournament.

Our Athletic Department can not offer free rooms to teams due to UIL rules. I was asked by the Lions Club to look into this option. I immediately went to the city of Duncanville to ask them to partner with the Lions Club and the DISD and to inquire about using hotel and motel tax money in a grant to use for the hotel rooms.

The city looked upon the opportunity as a good situation for our school district and our city. This became the start of the Lions Club’s involvement in a partnership with our school district and the city.

When we took over the tournament they were down to 27 teams and our competition level had suffered. This year we have a full 32-team field from four different states, with Seton Keough traveling from Baltimore. Two years ago we paid the school district $1,000 in fees and last year we were not charged any fees. We do pay for extra for security, some DISD ticket personnel and the food services for running our Coaches and College Coaches hospitality room.

We have raised the level of this great tournament to be one of the elite Christmas tournaments for varsity girls in the nation. We have around 100 college coaches and recruiters from all over the nation.

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I've got to fess up to a mistake I made, and apologize to the Lancaster Historical Society. I mistakenly left out an item about their regular meeting in the Nov. 17 issue, so I'm trying to make amends with this post.

"Winn Morton, author of a new book titled “Winniford Gold,” will address the Lancaster Historical Society at its next general meeting Sunday.

Morton  will review this historical and colorful story about the Winniford Family and their contributions to state and local history. 

Morton, owner of Winn Morton Designs, is a nationally recognized designer of sets and costumes for Broadway, television, national entertainment venues, and regional and local arts and social events.

The program will be held at Deerwood Farm, the Texas landmark and Winniford Family home.

Members and guests will gather at 3:30 p.m. for a short social time before  the meeting, and the program is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Members, friends, and others interested in the history of one of Lancaster’s pioneer families are invited to attend.  For additional information, call Carol Strain-Burk at 972-227-1382 or visit www.lhsweb.org."

That's what was supposed to appear in the paper, but again, I goofed. My deepest apologies to all involved.

Fernando Fonseca sends word that the DeSoto Masonic Lodge is hosting a garage sale Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are still a lot of great items left over from the last sale, he says. Contact him at 214-226-7771 for more information.

No, not the 17- and 18-year-olds you're probably thinking of, but those adults 55 or older. They are invited to attend "An Evening In The Park" at 6 p.m. Oct. 27 at McCowan Middle School.
For the past couple of years, the DeSoto School District has held a unique "senior prom" event in which the area's oldest citizens get a night out while they are waited on hand and foot by students of DeSoto High School.
Activities include dinner, prom photos, performances by the DeSoto High School choir and the DeSoto Dreamgirls, a night of dancing in the park and the crowning of the king and queen.
McCowan Middle School is located at 1500 Majestic Meadows in Glenn Heights.

For those of you planning to hit downtown Cedar Hill Saturday, here's a list of some of the things that are going on at Country Day on the Hill:

 7 a.m. Masonic Lodge Breakfast, FirstBaptistChurch of Cedar Hill,

602 W. Belt Line Road

8:30 a.m. Free shuttle service opens at Cedar Hill High School, U.S. Highway 67 at

Cooper Street

8:30 a.m. First United MethodistChurch Missions 5K Fun Run,

Cedar Street

at

Broad Street

9 a.m. Vendors open

9:15 a.m. Opening ceremony

10 a.m. Cedar Hill Lions Club Parade; northbound and southbound off ramps of Highway 67 at Cooper Street, along with the southbound frontage road from Belt Line Road, will be closed from 10 a.m. until the completion of the parade

10 a.m. Hoop and Paintball Target Shoot, FirstBaptistChurch of Cedar Hill

11 a.m.

Masonic Blood Drive

, First Baptist of Cedar Hill

11 a.m. Cedar Hill Fire Safety House,

Texas Street

at

Main Street

11 a.m. Cedar Hill Museum Display opens,

Cedar Street

near

Main Street

Noon Country Day Prince & Princess Pageant, Main Tent Stage

Noon Horseshoe tournament, Patton Livery Stable on

Texas Street

1 p.m. Pet show, First Baptist Church of Cedar Hill parking lot

1 p.m. Belt sander race, Phillips Lumber Co. on

Broad Street

2 p.m. Diaper Derby, PioneerPark Stage,

Cedar Street

at

Houston Street

2 p.m. Matchbox car race, Phillips Lumber Co.

2 p.m. Washer toss, First Baptist Church of Cedar Hill

2 p.m. Chili cook-off judging begins,

Cedar Street

at

Broad Street

2 p.m. Domino tournament, Cedar Hill Museum of History,

Cedar Street

near

Main Street

4 p.m. Lions Club fish fry, Patton Livery Stable

For the entertainment schedule and other information, visit www.countrydayonthehill.comor call 972-293-4740.

The biggest outdoor event of the year hits the Best Southwest when Cedar Hill celebrates Country Day on the Hill with two days packed with activities. I can only be at one place at one time, so I'm going to need your help. Submit your photos, your videos, your blog entries or anything you want about Country Day to www.neighborsgo.com, everything from the Diaper Derby to the Belt Sander races to the Most Pampered Pet contest, and we'll do the rest.
Start out with the Old Settlers Reunion at 6 p.m. on Friday night, then hit downtown Cedar Hill all day Saturday for the rest.