Picking the Brain: Hello, all you happy people

You’re likely peacefully and mindlessly scrolling through your phone, a regular and normal activity. A random block of words suddenly pops up. For context, you’re only given a mugshot of some goofball only a small portion of people can recognize.

Well, never fear. That goofball is just me.

After a calm warning like that, I should probably introduce myself. That may make things slightly less awkward … maybe.

My name is T.C. Pierceall. I’ve lived and worked here in Hannibal my whole life, so my face may be familiar to some. To those of you having to witness my mug for the first time, I’m deeply sorry.

I graduated in the winter of 2015 from Quincy University, where I studied journalism, then brought my newfound knowledge back home. I worked for the Courier-Post and Herald-Whig for six years as a production designer, taking all the stories and photos and putting the newspaper together for print.

I live in Hannibal with my cat, Chloe. If you were to ask her, she would tell you she’s the real owner of my house.

That’s quite enough about me. Time to explain my goal in writing this column, which I’m calling “Picking The Brain.”

It’s my attempt at looking at life and the world around us from a local’s perspective with a touch of levity, sarcasm and dumb jokes tossed in for good measure. This attempt may apply to everyday life or local goings on, or it may be trying to wrangle bigger, deeper things and ideas from around the area and farther out.

I hope some of you see my little observations, step back and seriously think for a minute (all the while chuckling warmly, of course.) Those thoughts might range from, “Gee, this guy is so super smart and handsome, too!” to “What the heck kind of drug was this dunce on when he was writing this?” 

That part is ultimately up to you. You’re the important one in this little relationship.

I pinky promise I’ll try to keep touchy things like politics and religion as far out of all of this as I can. I might occasionally reference a specific thing or person but only if it’s relevant to whatever I’m trying to say. You see enough of those types of opinion pieces already. Why bother making another one?

If you think what I wrote was complete and utter nonsense, I will be the sole reason for that. If your thoughts were provoked and/or your funny bone was sufficiently tickled, I will take every ounce of credit I can get. I want to entertain and educate people of all faiths from every side of the aisle.

I hope I’ve given a good enough reason as to why I’ve suddenly popped up on this page or invaded your news feed. I hope to use the sometimes functioning analytical side of my mind, along with my silly sense of humor, to make you pick your brain and think about life from different angles for a short time.

That, or simply give a short exhale of light amusement.

You’re the important one in this relationship. Whether or not you decide to give me flowers and chocolates is ultimately up to you, dear reader.

T.C. Pierceall is a lifelong Hannibal resident, writer and member of the local music community. He graduated in winter 2015 from Quincy University, where he studied journalism. T.C. lives in Hannibal with his trusty cat, Chloe.