Ian Weinreich Journalism TOM HALLMAN JR. Non-Deadline Writer First there was word of mouth. And on the second day God said, �Let there be newspapers,� and it was good. Being one of the oldest forms of news in the world, the writers of them have to uphold to certain standards. With the reporting of news comes the responsibility with it. Tom Hallman is a journalist who advocates for these responsibilities. He, as Keith Woods said, he brings to his stories the ear of a musician, the eye of a detective and the fiction writer�s sense of complexity and character development.� He reports, �with deep reporting, rich detail, and a personal voice.� With his talents and abilities, Hallman can make even the most ordinary of ordinaries become interesting and give them a soul. Children of a Lesser Hope was the first story I have read by Hallman. I had finished reading the story for about two minutes before I could. Hallman brings to us the lives of a somewhat forgotten presence in American. The poor, single, retarded mothers. I have yet to have met one, and I�m not sure, but I doubt you have. The story reads like a movie, there�s enough drama and complexity in there. I first picked up on his first few sentences. �Donna Purrell adds with her fingers and can�t make change for $20.� �Lennetta Bell can�t give direction to her home or read the children�s book Green Eggs and Ham.� You�re not exactly sure what the article is going to be about, but you do know that you�re hooked. The lead in just pulls you in to the rest of the article. You wanted to find out who these people were and exactly why one of them couldn�t, �read a thermometer and doesn�t understand what it means when the grocery store sells something at 3 pounds for a dollar.� You wanted to find out why and Hallman did a good job of explaining to you the situation these women were faced with. It started off making you feel apathetic and you ended with feelings of sympathy. Hallman does it once again. He pulls you in with his lead in. �In the decade since the mountain�s betrayal,� the mountain itself is a character, �I have traveled back many times. Never once have I thought of anything but