Turn the page, and you’ll find Earl holding forth on the usefulness of telling whoppers to little innocents. There’s more to it than just pulling their legs.

Earl, a computer security expert who lives in Gig Harbor, has a crooked but wise sense of humor. That’s one reason he was selected to lead our new lineup of reader columnists.

We waded through 64 applications to choose the six contributors who will take turns appearing on the Perspectives page each Sunday through January 2009.

I suspect that Earl, our leadoff hitter, will be rather unpredictable. Here’s part of his self-description:

“By day I am a mild-mannered technology executive who travels nationally and internationally imploring some of the world’s biggest enterprises to better protect private data. … At night I don black-and-white stripes and referee high school wrestling matches. (Hey guys, if there aren’t enough people in your life telling you what you’re doing wrong, put on the stripes and go officiate a sport!)

“I am contemplating launching a scientific study to determine if the act of covering one’s torso in black and white stripes makes one instantly dumber.”

The rest of the lineup includes:

 • Erin Simonson, who almost certainly is the only Stanford University MBA and former investment banker who keeps homes in both Ashford and Tacoma’s Old Town.

What led her to Ashford, the small community near the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, was marriage to famed, Ashford-based mountaineer and climbing guide Eric Simonson.

“Imagine the TV series ‘Green Acres’ (if you are old enough), except that I look nothing like Eva Gabor,” Simonson wrote. “Ashford is a far cry from Hooterville, and unlike Eva, I wisely made ongoing ownership of a ‘city home’ a requirement of my relocation to rural Washington. …

“In addition to my work in the international travel industry, I have become quite accomplished in the use of laundry soap and pumice stone to remove ring-around-the-toilet bowl.”

 • Matt Anderson, who is editor of the Viking Vanguard, Puyallup High School’s student newspaper. A senior, he works on the school yearbook and literary magazine as well. He’s been hooked on journalism since he took a class in the subject in his sophomore year.

He’s had a taste of working life behind the counter at a McDonald’s restaurant and currently moonlights as a sales clerk at a major department store. We won’t name the store because there may be a forthcoming tell-all column about that experience, and we don’t want to get him fired.

Matt turned in a moving column describing the moment his family decided to turn off the respirator that was keeping his comatose grandfather alive. That column will appear next week.

 • Jill Russell, who is a senior majoring in print journalism at Pacific Lutheran University and an editorial columnist for the student newspaper, The Mast.

Russell, a native Tacoman, will file her columns from London, where she’s participating in a study-abroad program. She’ll spend the summer there as well.

“I am interning at St. Martins in the Square, a 16th-century renovated church,” she writes. “It is really well known for its classical music concerts and its community service and programs. I will be working in the marketing department and will assist with project planning.

“I don’t really have set plans for after school. I would like to be a writer, maybe for magazines but preferably a newspaper columnist. Wink, wink. :)” She promises to offer the perspective of a “biracial, college-age woman.”

 • Eric Jacobsen, who is senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Tacoma and the only applicant who quoted Kierkegaard and Le Corbusier in his sample columns. From his self-introduction:

“He is the author of ‘Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith.’ He moved here this past July with his wife, three children, two dogs, three turtles, two goldfish and one bird.

“Eric is passionate about the way that older cities and traditional neighborhoods look and feel and especially about the distinct way that they shape human communities. He loves streetscapes and plazas the way that many people love old- growth forests and alpine lakes.”

Jacobsen is also working on a doctorate in theology; his topic is “theology and the built environment.” Look for more on that in columns to come.

 • Maggie McGuire, who wrote wonderful contributions when she served as a guest columnist for us in 2002. We’re glad to have her back.

McGuire, a manager for the Weyerhaueser Co., lives in University Place. She has a gift for capturing the meaning of commonplace aspects of family life.

One memorable column in 2003 described the family ritual of deciding what to do with the household possessions of a parent who has just died. The sight of an old kitchen knife brought back a lifetime of memories.

To prove she still has her chops, McGuire submitted an affecting column about “falling in love again” – with her college-bound son.

Finally, we salute the “retiring” guest columnists who served our readers during the past year: Sam Chandler, John Idstrom, Tom Juvik, Danny Serna, Vicki Alonzo and Julia Miller. Thanks, neighbors, for gracing our pages.

Contact editorial page editor David Seago at david.seago@thenewstribune.com.