Five years ago, I spent some time with John Mellencamp at his house in Bloomington, Ind. I was the music critic for the Washington Post back then, and after a show rehearsal, the Midwestern rabblerouser invited me to his regal manse on the shores of Lake Monroe for an hourlong interview. As I was leaving, I met his sons, Hud and Speck, and his wife, Elaine Irwin. You can read the profile RIGHT HERE.

Anyway, that story is a big reason why I love THIS story so much: Speck has started a Facebook page called "1,000,000 to join, my dad john mellencamp will quit smoking." He adds: "i made a deal with my dad that if i get a 1,000,000 to join this group he will quit smoking." The kid already has 178,000 members, one of whom is me, the irony of which is that I shared a smoke or two with John in December of 2004 (Anerican Spirits, I believe). My Post feature revolves around his puffing habit, including a classic endquote, the best kicker to any story I've ever written.

Go ahead and join the fight: Here's Speck's Facebook page.