LABOR OF LOVE: Our Labor Day column, which called attention to
the daily grind of newspaper reporters, was a hit with a couple of
readers.

Former Bradford resident Gus Gocella writes to us from e-land:
“Kudos to The Bradford Era, staff, reporters, editors,
photographers, clerks, advertising, printers and those who
contribute to the daily ‘labor of love’ which I read daily.”

“Newspapers are informative, educational, entertaining, and a
necessary part of our daily lives. Keep up this ‘labor of love’ and
thanks for protecting our Constitutional Right of expression
through the printed word.”

Another reader writes, “Your Labor Day ‘RTS column was
excellent! With regards to the ‘labor’ of a journalist, the
following quotes may be of interest: ‘The difference between the
right word and the almost-right word is like the difference between
lightning and the lightning bug.’ – Mark Twain.”

“‘Writing is not an amusing occupation. It is a combination of
ditch-digging, mountain-climbing, treadmill and childbirth. Writing
may be interesting, absorbing, exhilarating, racking, relieving but
amusing? Never!’ – Edna Ferber’

“Keep up your fine work.”

As we were preparing today’s column, we happened to notice our
Freedom Forum quote for that day which couldn’t be more
appropriate: “Show me a writer, any writer, who hasn’t suffered and
I’ll show you someone who writes in pastels as opposed to primary
colors,” said Rita Mae Brown, writer, American Artists Inc.,
1988.

TRY THIS: Chauncey Kan of Panama City Beach, Fla., has his own
remedy for those nasty bee bites: “When I’m stung by a bee I
un-strap my Case XX Bowie knife from the sheath tied to my leg. I
then heat up the razor-sharp blade with my windproof Zippo lighter
and cut a large X into my skin where I was stung. I suck the bee
venom out and spit it in the bee’s eye. Does this help? No, but the
girls dig it!”

NICE SHOT: A beautiful photograph of a bobcat near Red Bridge in
McKean County taken by Rocky Holland of Kane took second place in
“Winning Images,” a 2009 photo contest sponsored by the
Pennsylvania magazine. The theme was “Animals, Wild and
Domestic.”