FAN MAIL: If you ever think you’d like to be the editor of a
small town newspaper, consider this e-mail we received anonymously
last week:

“I notice in the Bradford Error the last several days all the
press your rag has given the HedgeHog Lane oil spill. I notice you
have many many comments on everyone patting themselves on the back
and telling how great of a job everyone else is doing about the
clean up. Which is a good thing for the clean up people.

“What I do not see much of is who is at fault or many comments
from anyone that is taking fault for this mess. Why hasn’t the
Bradford Error beat this story to death on the Who’s at fault
aspect of it like they do so many other simple trivial little
stories about seeing the first robin in someone’s back yard or how
many Zippo sightings everyone has to listen to in one month or how
much free leek dip is going to be dropped off at the Error Office
this spring or last but certainly not least is how poor Bradford
has such high gas prices? Time to beat that to death again, isn’t
it?

“Do you people at the Error have friends that are involved in
this latest oil mess and that is why not much about the blame is
being presented or the reasons? To keep the oil spill blame out of
the press? Now that’s what I call ‘Damage Control’ of this oil
spill!

“ Oh… I just saw a big black crow in my back yard! Was I the
first one to see one this spring? Please, please print to everyone
in the next 3 counties that someone on the ‘Hill’ saw a crow! And
yes. I DO NOT pay for this rag. I’m a free loader that reads it
after someone else was dumb enough to pay for it! Have another nice
day! :))”

See? Now doesn’t that start your day off right?

We particularly liked our writer’s use of the original “Bradford
Error.” We’ve only heard that about a trillion times.

We can only wonder, though, why a person with such obvious
dislike for our product would bother to read it — even if he’s not 
“dumb” enough to pay for it — let alone take the time to send a
nasty e-mail.