john nagy

When I first started MISCmedia as a registered business in 2000, I rented a private mailbox from a new shop in Belltown, The Home Office. (UPS shipping, fax service, and top ten lists—all under one roof!)

I knew it was my kind of place when I saw the welcome mat outside the door. It read HI, I’M MAT.

That line actually referred to the store’s founder, Matt Hale. He was a charming, genial, soft spoken fellow.

His store was, and is, on the ground floor of the Seattle Heights condo tower. A few years back, Hale sold the store and took a doorman gig at the building’s front desk.

He was walking home from that job on Aug. 3 when five thugs attacked him, really bad.

His attackers haven’t been identified or found.

Hale’s been in Harborview ever since.

Until Wednesday night.

That’s when he showed up at a neighborhood public safety meeting in the Labor Temple, to rousing applause.

Hale went back to Harborview after the meeting. He’s still got a long road ahead of him.

But he’s got a lot of us on his side.

UPDATE: David Nelson has a more thorough roundup about Wednesday night’s event, and about neighborhood businesses who’ve chipped in to help support Hale’s recovery.