SPECIAL DATE: This is Pearl Harbor remembrance day. It was on
Dec. 7, 1941 – the “date that will live in infamy” – that the
Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. Some dates are
etched in our collective memory such as the day President Kennedy
was assassinated. For any American alive on Sept. 11, 2001, the
date, too, lives in infamy.

DEER THOUGHTS: “When did we become such a nation of whiners?
Oohh! I was offended by that photo you ran on the front page of
your paper! And my children were horrified! (I couldn’t find a
spelling for ‘traumitized’).

That the word from Donald D. Fox of Bradford who responds to the
readers who complained loudly about the photo of the dead deer we
ran the first Tuesday of deer hunting season.

We’ve had quite a few comments, pro and con. More today and a
few concluding thoughts in Saturday’s column.

Donald continued, “God help us all if you had run a picture of a
turkey that was about to be flash frozen and sent off to the
nearest supermarket to bought and stuffed for Thanksgiving! Just
think of what that would’ve done to our delicate senses! Or how
about one of the thousands of cows that are sacrificed every day so
we can go to McDonald’s or Burger King. Oh, the horror!

“When I was a young boy, I watched as my father skinned rabbits,
squirrels and when he was fortunate enough, the occasional deer.
And I turned out just fine. (But wait a minute … If I didn’t turn
out fine, would I even know? I guess you’ll just have to take my
word on that.)

“Keep up the good work and tell these people to get over
themselves.”

M.D. McKenyon of Texas had this to contribute: “I liked the deer
photo. Bradford is a rural and rustic environment where ‘speed
beef’ is a staple. The buck was cleanly dressed and for those who
live in the area or were from the area, avoiding a morning sighting
(trees, hoods, garages) on a drive to work is improbable. Your
photo is keeping the lore and lure of Bradford alive.”

(“Lore and lure” – we like that.)