Comments on 12/5/08 and 12/19/08, and responses

Average Joe wrote on Nov 14, 2008 7:11 AM:
"As someone who has always marched to the beat of a different drummer, I can sort of understand her point of view. Also there is something to be said about the lack of employer loyalty to employees, which has now existed for many decades. Add to that the fact that all too many in management have reached or exceeded the pinnacle of the "Peter Principal" ("In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence.") and can make life miserable. As a sailor I know that it is sometimes good to be able to change direction with the changing winds to eventually get to where you want to go. My philosophy of "If you don't find your job easy (in spite of the hard work it may entail) and enjoyable, you shouldn't be doing it." still guides me. Yet unlike my resume which contains a long list of significant achievements, contributions to and awards from almost everything in which I've been involved (even at her age), I cannot help but suspect her resume would be "accomplishment lite". My impression from reading her column is that she is either suffering from chronic hippie beach bum syndrome....or is a high achiever in early onset of the Peter Principal. Then maybe she simply has failed to find her niche or is too young and naive to realize that at some point you have to buckle up and settle down if you want to start saving and planning for "retirement" rather then always relying on the generosity of patrons or ending up on the public dole. "

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Average Joe wrote on Dec 5, 2008 5:00 AM:
"This type of article reminds me of the "creative writing" class I took in high school (45 years ago) where we grasped at the most idiotic and outlandish topics in order to impress our teacher and get a good grade. What most would consider truly good creative writing (like that of the greatest, most revered authors this very same teacher raved about and to which level of writing she wished we could aspire in the "advanced reading" class) got a "C" or "D". Weird and way out (often infantile) trash got an "A". Guess it depended on what your definition of "creative" was...at the moment. (Where was Bill Clinton when we needed him the most?)

Perhaps articles like this one are what have contributed to the potential closing of the Press come the first of the year. I'm all for entertaining, even amusing columns, but this seems like a total waste of space. (Need we remind all you liberals that others are entitled to their opinions even if they disagree with yours? So please don't label me uninformed, unenlightened or anti anything.)

It does have redeeming social value though, since she openly reveals her true self as a radical left wing liberal by equating "Republicans", "enemies" and "town dumps" in the same category as negative factors. Perhaps if she got a real job where you actually had to work for a living and produce something of value or take responsibility as a business owner rather then be dependent on the generosity of patrons or public funding (note her past "employment" and claims to fame), she would not have time or inclination to write such whimsy! But then she does have the appearance and philosophy of a modern day hippie...with a zero "sleves" and a minus 10 "moms" factor plus a rating of a gazillion "cult miles" from the average Joe. "

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Objective Reader wrote on Dec 20, 2008 4:16 AM:
"Just can't seem to understand why these writings get to take up space in this publication. They are not informative, humorous, thought provoking, spiritual, debatable or entertaining. In the back of my mind it cannot help but be asked whose niece or daughter she is.

Is it me? I am told I have a great sense of humor, am willing to participate in a good debate on many subjects, inquisitive, appreciative of art and intellect, etc..... Nope, just can't wrap my mind around anything read in this column. I keep trying and then tell myself that I must just be getting too old to appreciate whatever the purpose of this space is intended to be. "

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Wow. Well, here's my admittedly unsolicited advice, Average Joe and Objective reader (I suspect you're the same person, though that may not be the case): Stop reading my columns.

Or maybe you already have, since it's taken me so long to get back to your comments.

Let me correct a few factual errors here, anyway, just in case people who continue to read have the same misconceptions, or in case you ever wander across my column blog archive by chance.

My column on scales meant to quantify emotions (sadness, dissatisfaction with geographic location, etc.) did not equate "Republicans" with "enemies."

It said, in fact, that "an active local hippie population [for hippies]" would be considered a benefit, while "an active local hippie population [for Republicans]" would be considered a drawback. Grammatically and intentionally, this meant that "hippies" might like to live near other "hippies," while Republicans probably wouldn't.

Of course, the whole thing was a joke.

Nobody's actually going around measuring their sadness in "kittens" -- though I have to say that these sorts of comments definitely increase my kitten count for the day significantly.

In fact, the column as a whole was meant to point out that these things can't be quantified, and our tendency to focus on math and science often leaves the more subtle art of self-description or expressing emotions out in the cold. (It did this satirically -- and while I don't know your age or type of sense of humor, I can say that a lot of people don't really enjoy or "get" satire. And that's fine.)

I'd say that quantifying "creativity" in the way your teacher did, Average Joe, falls in the same category of silly/ridiculous as the idea that we can quantify our emotions. It causes exactly the results that you point to -- with a teacher determining subjectively what s/he likes, or what s/he defines as "creative" and putting a quantity to it (an "A" or a "D").

The only possibly quantifiable elements in "creative writing" are spelling, grammar and word count. We can legitimately grade on these if we have standards to judge by. Luckily, we American English-speakers have dictionaries, grammar books and word processing programs (which count the number of words for us).

The rest is all opinion.

So let me point out, for the record, that my use of brackets ("[for Republicans]") causes my meaning to be clear -- not that I'm lambasting Republicans, but that I'm joking that Republicans probably won't like living near hippies -- and that my writing is impeccable in spelling, grammar and word count, insofar as I control it. (It gets edited after I submit it to the newspaper.)

I get an "A" for that.

You may fail me on content, and that's your right as a reader -- your opinion is just as vital and valuable as mine, as an American and citizen of the world.

As for my column contributing to the potential closing of The Bristol Press, well, it's nice to know that someone thinks a weekly 600-word column written by a local citizen can have that kind of impact. I hope it does, though I wouldn't wish that kind of responsibility on myself. I'd like to believe that individuals still have that kind of power over corporations, and that our opinions matter that much.

I am a hippie, after all, as revealed...wait, where was that "revealed"?

Still, I'm glad The Bristol Press didn't close. (Does the fact that it stayed open mean that people like my columns so much that they decided to keep it going? If I was to be responsible for its downfall, I'd like to be credited for its success...unless, as I do, you suspect that it actually had more to do with a new publisher appearing who realized the Press and The Herald could be financially viable papers with good coverage of local news and issues, than with the success or failure of my Friday columns.)

I'm sorry you weren't entertained by my column, and I'm certainly not going to label you anti-anything -- though you seem to be anti-your-old-creative-writing-teacher.

And I'm not going to delve into what very little I know of your personal work history (you imply you're a business owner?) to insult you personally. I won't attempt to divine whether your accomplishments are "lite" or not based on your three or four comments on my columns.

I don't know you that well, Average Joe, and if I did, I probably would find some value in what you've accomplished in your life even if the way you went about it was different than the way I would have. I probably still wouldn't accuse you of not having a "real job," or put the word employment in scare quotes, to imply you hadn't worked for your wages.

As you do to me.

I would remind you, as I reminded Cindy from Fairfield in the summer, that 600 words a week is not sufficient information to apply to the question of who someone is. You're welcome to question the premises of my columns, or even the broader question of why I get to write them. Unless I apply for a job with you, however, don't expect that you've gotten a complete resume from me, or that you can gauge even my political beliefs by what I write each week.

I gently remind you that you can't. Not correctly, anyway.

I'm also not sure what it was that made you label my appearance (a low blow, there, Joe) as a "modern day hippie's." Was it the tasteful, single necklace purchased at a downtown Plainville jeweller? Was it the part of the sweater bought at the Kohl's you can see in the fade-out headshot of me? Was it the haircut, which I got at a Supercuts in Southington?

Was it the glasses? I got those in China, true. (Though China doesn't have many hippies, modern-day or otherwise.) But I got the red ones because I'd had red glasses as a fifth-grader in New Britain, and those came from an eyeglass store downtown.

I'm not sure what passes for hippie-wear these days. Maybe it's the freckles or the blue eyes.

Maybe it's just my apparent age.

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To Objective Reader, I can only reply that though I consider the answer firmly embedded in the "none of your business" category, I will respond to the question that plagued the back of your mind (and your comment) in December: I'm the daughter of a disabled veteran.

She doesn't work for the paper. None of my relatives do.

In fact, I'm the only one in my family who has ever worked for the newspaper: I delivered it door-to-door in middle school.

Thanks for your comments, O.R. and A.J. -- though I hope you've freed yourselves from the obligation of reading my column, and so will probably likely not comment again. I wish you the best.