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Last week's "Unclassified" on "The Shore Journal" (No. 3) began this way:
Some folks say: "Change is good." I say: "Only if it is an improvement."
That prompted this partially quoted e-mail response:
"Me also thinks we agree to disagree on one thing: Change is good, but a big
black dog is better!
Again, well done!!
ddt"
Last week's column generated a number of responses. one was a pleasant telephone call Tuesday morning from someone mentioned. As a consequence, if you read "Unclassified" on Wednesday, you saw an abridged version of what originally appeared Sunday. (One of the advantages of electronic journal.)
Here's why: The person who spent part of Jan. 25, 1993, in a Baltimore County jail ended up in that predicament because, in his own words, "I followed the advice of my attorney." That's an excellent explanation of why the other media in the area ignored it as not newsworthy. I should have, also.
After all, isn't that why we hire legal counsel -- to keep us out of jail? Wasn't it Willie Shakespeare who offered: "First, we kill the lawyers?"
Naturally, after receiving this additional information, three paragraphs were deleted by nightfall Tuesday. If I'd done more homework -- sometimes an account deserves more than just the facts -- I wouldn't have made this mistake. I promise to do better.
Another of the obvious advantages of electronic columning (is there such a word?) is that readers all over the world have access and, in many cases, can respond directly to the author. I received quite a few mostly encouraging e-mails last week. Some people in Michigan, like Claudya Muller, former director of the Worcester County Library, are moderately interested in the goings on in Smallsberry. The "Unclassified" is one resource.
One of the trademarks of the thousand or so "Unclassified" columns
which have appeared in The Daily Times since 1978 is their
inconsistency: You just never know what you might find. Sometimes I've written about politics. They are the ones that got me into trouble. But you might also read about some of our favorite eateries; our pet cats -- past and present; people who have departed; etc.
In other words, these columns have always been a hodgepodge. On some occasions I try to write in what they call a "conversational" style. Better writers are often described as utilizing the stream-of-consciousness method. (A term originated by William James, a pretty fair writer.) More than a few of my past readers often suggested my style was, well, unconscious.
On the advice of my attorney, I plead no contest and beg the court's mercy.
Later.
May 19, 1996 John Bozman All Rights Reserved ["The Wizard of Boz"]Table of Contents |