Fifteen hundred straight Senate Sketches. Fifteen hundred straight weeks. If I say so myself, that’s an achievement. That’s 29 years without missing a single week. I am celebrating. Some people are holding an official celebration at Selma’s Bridge House Theater on Saturday, March 19 at 6 p.m. Please come and celebrate with me. Fifteen hundred straight Senate Sketches is something to celebrate.

It started way back in 1987 with just a concept. I had been amazed about how my dear constituents perceived the position of state senator. I realized that I could not explain it just once; I had to explain it on a regular basis. More importantly, I wanted to share with them the things I was trying to do as senator. That’s how Sketches was conceived in my mind. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

The conception was one thing; the birth was another for it took more than a desire or an idea. It so happened that John Zippert, Carol P. Zippert and others had acquired The Greene County Democrat newspaper sometime in 1985. At that time, Greene County was in Senate District 23, which I represented and still represent. (Greene was removed in 1992). The Zipperts were seeking ways to better serve their readers. They asked me if I would consider writing a weekly column. This request dovetailed with my desire to better inform the public. Senate Sketches was born on April 29, 1987, with the first publication of Sketches in The Greene County Democrat. The Democrat has published every single Senate Sketches in full ever since. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

Sketches has evolved over the years. The first Sketches was just a statement of activities on each weekday, but it was not called Daily Diary. There was no prologue and no epilogue. I quickly concluded that so much was happening each day that I could just mention a few of the interactions. I could not really explain any of them in detail in the space allowed. I could give just a sketch. That’s why it’s called Senate Sketches. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

Other newspapers have published the Sketches prologue for extended periods of time. None of them have published the full Sketches. None have come close to the 1,500 week record of The Greene County Democrat. AEA (Alabama Education Association) published selected Sketches for years in its Alabama School Journal. In addition to newspapers, Sketches is published by e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. People read Sketches not only in Alabama but also across the country and around the world. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

I have met people in far flung places around the world who acted like they knew me well, and I had no idea who they were. However, I usually discovered that they were subscribers to The Greene County Democrat. They did not just read Sketches, they came to know me personally through my weekly writings. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

When Sketches evolved to a prologue, a daily diary and an epilogue, I decided that people probably read the Prologue but not the daily diary. Therefore, I ceased writing the daily diary. After several weeks, The Greene County Democrat received various complaints about the missing daily diary. It turned out that people were really reading the daily diary far more than the prologue. People said that even though I just mentioned some names of the persons I communicated with, they often imagined specific conversations.

They wanted to know with whom I communicated. Some would talk to me and pointedly say, “I expect to see my name in Sketches next week.” Others would say, “ I didn’t see my name in Sketches although we talked.” Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

I wrote Sketches during trips to Africa, Asia, South America, Europe and various places in North America. I wrote a Sketches in Cuba but could not get it typed. I read it over the phone to my secretary and she typed it. I could not even reread it, not to speak of being able to proof or edit it. But the Sketches chain continued unbroken. My dear wife, Faya Rose Toure, tells stories about the two different occasions she had breast cancer, I would sit by her hospital bed writing Sketches while she struggled with life and death. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

I write about nearly every subject under the sun: friendship and family; struggle and service; politics and law; history and voting; culture and health; birth and death; love and hate; and so on. No subject is off limits. Some see Sketches as a collection of history.

Over time, I developed my own approach. I recall that Katherine Bailey of Boston called me one day. She had never called me although she had called Faya Rose many times. When I was on the phone, I told her that Rose was not in. She said, “I didn’t call Rose, I called you. I just want to tell you not to change how you write Sketches. You really know how to draw readers in. That’s a special gift.” She immediately hung up the phone. It was a dying declaration. She died several days later. I also recall a well-known lawyer based in Montgomery saying, “I wish I could write like you. You write like you are talking directly to people.” So many have Sketches stories. I am humbled to share my Sketches story each and every week. Fifteen hundred straight Sketches.

There is an African Proverb that says that mighty rivers are filled drop by drop. It reminds us about how much can be acknowledged by doing a little each day or week or month. I put in my drop a little each day. That’s how I wrote 1,500 straight Senate Sketches.