Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Banana.

Banana who?

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Banana.

Banana who?

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Orange.

Orange who?

Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?

It’s the world’s best and worst knock, knock joke all rolled into one.

For kids, it’s hilarious.

For adults, it’s annoying.

And I’m betting it’s going to show up on the front page of this newspaper one day this week.

Today’s knock, knock joke, brought to you by Cathedral student Fisher Iseminger, is the start of a joke-a-thon of sorts.

The jokes — random as they may seem — are promoting our favorite annual Democrat project.

Profile 2009 comes to your doorsteps and newspaper racks Sunday. The 136-page magazine is an annual publication focusing on the people of the Miss-Lou.

And I can easily say this Profile is the best I’ve ever been a part of.

“Door by door: Unlocking the character of our community” tells the stories you’ve always wanted to hear.

Though the section is full of feature stories, they aren’t all lighthearted ones this year.

The section follows the story of a grieving man, a 22-year-old stuck in the body and mind of a second-grader and a prisoner at the Adams County Jail.

The section introduces you to a member of the Natchez homeless community. And you’ll read about a drug addict who called the police on himself.

Of course there is a little fun mixed in as well. Profile includes a story about a condo owned by five dogs, an extravagant deer camp and a high flying football player.

With 33 stories in all, we hope Profile 2009 truly unlocks the great stories of our area.

But most of all we hope the special section inspires local readers to do a little knocking of their own.

Do you know your neighbors? Do you take the time to hear the stories your friends may have to tell?

As our world moves faster and our lives get busier, we all forget to make the personal connections generations before us had.

Text messaging, Facebook and e-mail allow us to connect from a distance. We keep each other at arms’ length.

Gone are the days of inviting a neighbor over for coffee, just to chat.

And with that chat, we’ve lost wonderful relationships.

But it’s not too late to restore what we’ve lost.

Though we are proud of Profile 2009 and the stories we found and helped tell, we know it is only the tip of the iceberg.

The world doesn’t have enough newsprint to adequately tell every story in our great community. It’s up to you — the people — to find those stories.

So take your inspiration from the children we’ll feature on the front page this week and start the knock, knocks.

You may be surprised at what you’ll find.

And keep your eyes open for Profile in this Sunday’s newspaper. You won’t want to miss it.

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