Dearth No More
Submitted by Al Diamon on Wed, 10/03/2007 - 1:55pm.
October 3, 2007
For several weeks, the letters pages of Maine daily and weekly newspapers have been filled with well-crafted, thoroughly researched, thoughtful missives on topics both great and small. You know, the kind of letters written by people who listen to lots of public radio and/or regular readers of (ulp!) Down East.
In other words, boring.
I was beginning to think all the quirky opinions had been relegated to the Internet. But on October 3, the situation took a turn for the … um, well … a turn, anyway. The first indication was this communication from Richard Sykes of Rockland printed in the Bangor Daily News:
"I am not a lobsterman, but I sympathize with them. The Maine lobstermen have to earn a living; they need to support their families.
"Right whales do not have to earn a living."
No doubt this will provoke responses from those concerned about the potential impact of whales on welfare. In the meantime, consider this letter from Eunice Shurtleff of Strong published on the same day in the Original Irregular of Kingfield:
"Sociopaths and autocrats are sly devious liars, which is characteristic of the `I' and `Me' Syndrome (among other evil contentions). Beware of those who wish to harm us.
"On that same note, many ignore the fact that some breeds of dogs are dangerous when allowed to run amok."
This is what comes of dogs not having to earn a living.
If you spot an … er … unusual letter to the editor, post it here.
Al Diamon can be e-mailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.
For several weeks, the letters pages of Maine daily and weekly newspapers have been filled with well-crafted, thoroughly researched, thoughtful missives on topics both great and small. You know, the kind of letters written by people who listen to lots of public radio and/or regular readers of (ulp!) Down East.
In other words, boring.
I was beginning to think all the quirky opinions had been relegated to the Internet. But on October 3, the situation took a turn for the … um, well … a turn, anyway. The first indication was this communication from Richard Sykes of Rockland printed in the Bangor Daily News:
"I am not a lobsterman, but I sympathize with them. The Maine lobstermen have to earn a living; they need to support their families.
"Right whales do not have to earn a living."
No doubt this will provoke responses from those concerned about the potential impact of whales on welfare. In the meantime, consider this letter from Eunice Shurtleff of Strong published on the same day in the Original Irregular of Kingfield:
"Sociopaths and autocrats are sly devious liars, which is characteristic of the `I' and `Me' Syndrome (among other evil contentions). Beware of those who wish to harm us.
"On that same note, many ignore the fact that some breeds of dogs are dangerous when allowed to run amok."
This is what comes of dogs not having to earn a living.
If you spot an … er … unusual letter to the editor, post it here.
Al Diamon can be e-mailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.
The views expressed on this Web site are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Down East Enterprise or its employees.
