Writer's note: Sometime during the summer of 1968, my family and I moved across town from Cardinal Valley to Idle Wild Court on the backside of Castlewood Park. Soon afterward, I took a job at Vaughn's Grocery, a small market on the corner of our street. It was there that I first met Don Pratt. He came into the store while delivering the Lexington Leader newspaper.

Pratt was somewhat of a neighborhood celebrity, having spoken out against the Vietnam War in a very public way. I remember people talking about him and his opposition to the war. I do not remember anyone speaking ugly about him, though I am sure some did.

Very much a conformist and not yet draftable, I admired Pratt for following his conviction. I still do. In the years that have passed since 1968, Pratt has continued to stand up for causes he believes in and lives his convictions. From time-to-time, these beliefs put him in the public spotlight and in the crosshairs for those who might say he is a little crazy. Pratt isn't crazy, he's just passionate about the things he believes in. And in that way, we should all be a little more like him.

I asked Pratt to explain how he came to be the person he is. Here are my questions and his answers:

Malcolm Stallons (MS): What caused you to become outspoken?

Connecting with little kids on my paper route became a constant thing, and over the years, a large number of low-income, somewhat neglected kids, began helping me on the route, even on weekends and holiday nights.

One of them was a five-year-old I called "Little Man." His older brother, "Big Man," also helped. Their mother was in prison.

Little Man disappeared one day. His grandparents asked me to help find him, so I did. A few days later, Little Man's body was found in an abandoned refrigerator. I was told a mentally disabled neighborhood kid had hidden him there. She forgot about him when called to supper.

My first political act was to write a letter to the editor calling for a law requiring doors to be removed from refrigerators that are left outdoors.

MS: What caused you to take a stand against the Vietnam War?

DP: I had been educated on civil rights and had been actively involved in the integration of UK basketball. I was an admirer of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and met him while researching poverty and racism in Atlanta. I was reading his book "Why We Can't Wait" at the time.