It’s the little things that seem to occupy the most time in our brains.

Or maybe it’s just easier to ponder small things than truly make decisions about the big issues.

Either way, the Miss-Lou has peppered The Democrat staff with questions lately, some big, but most small.

Your most recent round of questioning is in response to the addition of a new weekly feature in the newspaper — “You asked.”

Each Monday, on the back page of the A section, our staff publishes the answer to one of your burning questions.

So far, you’ve asked about a dog found in a Dumpster, high curbs in Vidalia and even oil severance taxes.

Alongside your questions, we’ve been printing photos you’ve submitted — or photos we took at your request — of areas in our community that need a little attention. In “Please fix” we’ve featured potholes, broken streetlights and rundown city property.

One Monday we published a photo of overgrown grass covering a downtown sidewalk. By 5 p.m. that day, the grass had been cut (though not exactly in landscaper fashion.)

Our intent in publishing your questions and photos isn’t to burn the butts of governmental employees responsible for maintaining these sites, but to simply point out that details matter.

The public is, perhaps, more concerned with overgrown properties, bumpy streets and a lack of parking law enforcement than it is with tax-anticipation loans, budgets and employee raises.

Why? Because what we see around us determines how we feel.

And those little details fill our minds with frustration.

“Why can’t it just be fixed?” we ask, sometimes daily. “Why did they do it that way?” we grumble once we’ve already gotten frustrated by something simple.

Of course, no one expects local governments, boards and leaders to be able to fix every pothole, cut every blade of grass or explain away every problem all the time.

But we do feel there is plenty of room for improvement.

The new features simply give the public a venue to share a bit of constructive criticism and learn a bit themselves.

Many times, the questions average citizens may ask do have a perfectly reasonable explanation. But maybe no area leader has thought to explain it.

We hope “You asked” will allow us to explain the “why” behind all facets of life in the Miss-Lou.

Our staff has several more submitted questions that remain to be answered, but we plan to continue working through them.

In the meantime, keep your questions coming. Of course freeing your mind of the small details that sometimes steal so much time might just mean you’ll have to deal with the big decisions!

Write to: “You asked,” c/o The Natchez Democrat, P.O. Box 1447, Natchez MS 39120 or e-mail us at: why@natchezdemocrat.com.

If you’d like to submit a photo for the “Please fix” feature, you can do so by via mail, a visit to our office or e-mail to the above address. Only photos taken of public property will be printed.

And remember to thank your local leaders for their answers to your questions.

Julie Cooper is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.