No, this is not a study on why “we” the collective human race, nor any subset thereof, does anything based on physical, emotional, environmental or psychological stimuli. (Come on folks, it’s my writing you’re reading and you know I don’t follow the science because I ain’t that bright.)
The “we” of which I speak today is the “we” of “us” here at your community newspaper. Yeah, I know there was an easier, quicker way to get to that point, but it wouldn’t have been as much fun for me. I spend a lot of time and effort to write convolutedly so back off and give me a break.
Recently I of the “we” of the “us” at your community newspaper have received a number of communications on a number of issues. One issue asked me went something like, “Why did you not use the word boy in front of scout in your headline?”
I’ll make an assumption as to why the person asked this question knowing full well of the ramifications of assuming anything. Maybe the reader thought we were giving the old raspberry to the Boy Scouts of America, by eliminating the word boy from the headline. Maybe the reader was confused as to whether or not the scout of which we reported was a girl of the Boy Scouts or a Girl Scout (which by the way, are two completely different things).
I assure you there was no slight intended. And, I did reach out to tell the reader why we did not use “boy” in the headline. The simple answer is, space. When writing headlines you only have a certain amount of space to fill. Usually, because headlines are the bait to get folks to stop and read the story, headline writers want to use the biggest letters they can. Bigger letters are catchier than smaller letters. The side effect of bigger letters used in that finite amount of space is you have to use fewer letters.
The fewer the letters, the bigger the letters, the more catchy the headline, the more likely the reader is to read.
I hope the confusion level hasn’t just spiked on me!
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I also received a question on why we would run a letter to the editor from someone who doesn’t walk lock-step with mask mandates imposed by governing bodies.
Wrote the reader, “ . . . why on Earth would you publish something that is against the health and safety of our neighbors and their children? There are so many reasons to comply with the mask request but I won’t waste my breath. I guess the ignorant are culling their tribe. But, must they endanger the rest of us?”
And, as always there is a simple answer to that question, and here it is: In the arena of ideas we try to give most ideas and most folks a place to be heard.
Unfortunately, in today’s world people have decided to put themselves into tribes of ideals, and only the ideals of said tribe are legitimate. All other ideals and tribes are evil and must be silenced. Nobody ever wants to hear information or opinion that is contrary to their own, however today it’s become almost a religion and everybody is a zealot.
And, before anyone scrawls off a hasty, angry note to yours truly, no we do not run all the letters we receive. We try to be neutral and do what we feel is best for our community. We always reserve the right to edit any letter that comes in and not just for grammar and English class stuff. Sometimes we need to edit for clarity and for brevity and sometimes we limit the number of letters from any one individual or on any one topic.
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Which leads me to this . . . newsprint space is precious. It has value. This value allows our owners to pay the “us” at your community newspaper wages. These wages help “us” employees feed, shelter and clothe our families.
The size — page count — of your community newspaper is dependent on the amount of local, community businesses who advertise on our pages. The more local ads we have the more pages of newsprint we can allocate to reporting on local news, happenings and people.
In other words, your community newspaper is a business and needs to make money if it is to stay open. In that vein, I am going to open an auction up, starting now and open to any local business: Sponsor this column Don’t Rush Me’s online version. Don’t Rush Me appears on four community newspaper websites. And, the bidding starts now!
Email, DontRushDon@gmail.com with your thoughts or bids.

  don rush, don’t rush me