I received a phone call the other day from a friend and subscriber (yes, the two often go hand-in-hand) asking if the letters printed in this column last month were “real.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed the entries,” she said, “and in fact laughed out loud at several points. But I was left with the suspicion that the material was invented by someone on the staff” ... intimating further that / might have had a hand in the imaginative copy.

The point this persistent reader continually badgered me with was the fact that the letters were signed anonymously and with such a twist that it was not difficult to believe that there was an ulterior motive to the material.

I was taken aback, dismayed, frustrated even. “To think that I had concocted those letters just for the sake of filling space is ridiculous,” I retorted to this “friend,” further intimating how disappointing such an observation was coming from her.

Privately, however, I was a bit flattered. If I were to resort to such chicanery, I would hope that they would be of similar caliber and illicit a similar response. If, that is, I were to write such letters.

So for the record, let me say this about that … those letters were very “real” submissions to the editor and were signed anonymously not to cast a doubt on their credibility, but instead to protect the author from undue harrassment.

 

Signed: Passing The Buck.

 

 

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