Earlier in the week, I blogged about the kindness of strangers, a moment of humility, and the power good karma.

Today, I'm blogging to tell you that I flat-out lied to Milwaukee's most annoying pitchman, the "eXpressions Journal Guy."

I know you know who I'm talking about. The skinny white guy with the blond dreadlocks who's been roaming the city for at least a decade with his identical pitch: "Do you like to write? Are you creative? Do you like to read?"

And, at one time or another, we've all been slightly sucked into his gimmick. But not Wednesday.

I've seen eXpressions Journal Guy all over the city. He used to be localized on Brady Street, but he once rang my doorbell in Bay View with the same tired proposition. At first, I didn't recognize him, but when he went into his cockamamie spiel, I burst out laughing: "Dude, you are everywhere! Thanks, but no thanks," I said, closing the door.

But Wednesday, I saw him coming. Walking out of Whole Foods with a bowl of grilled tofu in my hands for the one-block walk back to our office, eXpressions Journal Guy had already cornered one unsuspecting sucker. His "partner in crime" approached me.

Here is the how the conversation unfolded, verbatim:

Her: "Do you like to write?"

Me: "No."

Her: "Are you creative?"

Me: "Not really."

Her: "Do you like to read?"

Me: "No."

And I kept walking, dropping three "L bombs" in 10 seconds (I just made up the "L Bomb" phrase; see, I am creative!).

When I got back to the office, I warned our crew about the eXpressions Journal Tag team not 50 yards from our HQ. Everyone, of course, has his or her own story about this dude (and perhaps his newly recruited "co-editor").

But OMC Managing Editor Bobby Tanzilo's was the best. He recounted a time when he worked at Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops Downtown, and walking into work, he was bombarded with the same questions. He, like I, lied to the dude. But the guy also threw in, "Do you like Reggae," to which über-Reggae fan Bobby also replied with a resounding "no!" Then he walked into the bookstore.

Truth be told, eXpressions Journal Guy is pesky but harmless. I still don't understand the full details of what he's pitching every single last person in Metro Milwaukee, but damn, if it isn't annoying as hell.

I feel a little bad for out-and-out lying, but a word to the wise: Do exactly as I did if you ever see this dude. Any guilt you have left over will be gone by your third or fourth approach from this persistent literary aficionado.

Update: the "eXpressions Journal Guy," who said his name is Ras Kennedy, dropped into to our office today unannounced, asking politely but insistently that I remove this blog entry. He explained that he perceived the column to be adversely affecting his business, which in his words, is about recording peoples' creativity for posterity. Kennedy, who doesn't own eXpressions Journal, is the sales manager and senior publisher. The magazine, he said, is owned by Ras Trammell.

I explained to Kennedy that I would not simply kill the blog, for if I deleted every article that ever offended anyone, we wouldn't haven't much substance in our magazine. Instead, I offered to do a follow-up article, in which he could better explain to me his methods for recruiting writers -- which I told him honestly does bug me, especially when I'm on deadline, have a plate full of food and am walking hurriedly to my office. Had I not received the same pitch 20 times in 10 years, I would've never even thought to put pen on paper, so to speak. He said what was hurting his business most is that when Googling "eXpressions Journal," my blog came up before his own Web site (which I linked to at the bottom of my story). I'm not sure there's much I can do about that.

Kennedy said he wasn't interested in a follow-up article, and recommended that I contact his boss, Trammell, instead. I offered to interview Kennedy on the spot, but I'd need to grab a tape recorder, or at least a notepad, first, since he showed up and walked straight to my office without warning. But he said he was late to a 2:30 p.m. appointment and recommended I recount our brief conversation to the best of my ability and call him another time.

I think what Kennedy, and perhaps some of our readers are failing to understand, is that deflecting a solicitor's pitch with three quick "no's" is a bit more friendly (though perhaps more passive-aggressive), than telling him to "Go to hell and never bother me again." I would never advocate that, and I'm disappointed -- but I understand -- that Kennedy didn't realize this was strictly a tongue-in-cheek blog. He asked how I would feel if someone wrote something negative about OnMilwaukee.com, and indeed, I've taken it personally, too. I recall a blogger once writing that I'd rot in hell and be flogged by a million dangling chads for eternity for allowing President Bush to visit our office in 2005. For my money, that's a little more harsh than "Truth be told, eXpressions Journal Guy is pesky but harmless." In fact, we're told that we suck pretty much on a daily basis. That's just life in the media business.

Anyway, I took a look at his magazine for the first time, and it's filled with sincere poetry, prose and illustrations. Kennedy stressed that he wasn't "some dude," but was a "businessman" like me, and I acknowledged that, though our styles of recruiting writers are polar opposites.

I don't wish either Ras ill-will, and to me, the eXpressions Journal Guy is part of the unique fabric of Milwaukee that makes our town special. Love him or hate him (and believe me, if I hated him, my blog would've taken on a much more acerbic tone), I give him credit for his persistence. I'm sorry if Kennedy felt slighted -- though if any of his potential freelancers, subscribers or advertisers change their minds because of my 447-word light-hearted rant, then my blogging is more powerful than I thought it was.

Maybe next time I'll blog about my prediction that the Brewers will win the World Series.