Dear Editor: Mondays Were Bad Enough Already......

I realize this is outside the realm of your job description, but I don't know where else to direct my complaint.

I know we live in a relatively small county, smack dab between the capital city metropolis that is Atlanta to our west, and the university town of Athens to our east. We only make the news when a teacher is "fired" for posting pictures of herself holding a glass of some alcoholic beverage in Europe on her summer vacation or when a local dude kills his wife and stuffs her body in a well.

We do appreciate, however, keeping up with the news in the larger towns. That has become a bit of a challenge of late. First the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stopped delivering. We didn't miss it so much, because the editors over there feel compelled to include pertinent stories from all over the metro area, and we live just outside the edges of that distinction. Still, we felt a little like second-class citizens, not important enough to have home delivery of what is probably the state's largest newspaper.

We preferred your paper anyway, with its hometown (did I mention I was born in Athens?) flavor and excellent coverage of all things UGA. The first thing in my daily routine is to take the dog out around 5:00 AM and fetch the newspaper from the box. I sit in my recliner with my cup of coffee and peruse the paper, which Hubby allows me to read first so he can do the puzzles.

And now the economy has touched YOUR newspaper. Apparently budgeting concerns forced your paper to stop using the paid drivers who delivered the paper, contracting instead with a company that delivers ANOTHER county's newspaper to our area. Only they don't deliver on Mondays. Not to worry, your organization's letter of explanation read, we would still receive Monday's newspaper. On Tuesday. With the Tuesday paper.

Wait.......what?

I realize I can read most of your paper's content online, and if something really major happens that I need to know about, the Atlanta television stations are likely to cover it.

But still.

I read that little box on the sports page that tells what events will be televised that night. I like to read the recap of the Braves game that I watched on Sunday. I keep up with the Bulldogs and how the pre-season is progressing. What if our (we hope we hope we hope we hope we hope) star running back does something spectacular or even ordinary on Sunday night, and I don't know about it until Tuesday?

There's just something about holding the newspaper in my hands, even if I do get them dirty from the newsprint. And now I have to start my work week off with no newspaper. It doesn't feel natural, standing on the porch waiting for Gus to come back from doing his duty, instead of walking to the paper box and retrieving the paper.

I feel like those folks in the Wild West who had to wait until the stagecoach arrived once a week to bring them their newspapers and mail. We just aren't very special out here in the country.

As if Mondays needed anything else to make them suck.

Sincerely,

The Bragger Household

Editorial License......

I did something today that I had never done previously.

In our local paper, I usually skim the letters to the editor, mainly to see if anyone has written something stupid.

I skip any letters about politics or healthcare, so lately I haven't had much to skim.

Today, however, I came across a letter to the editor from an idiot.

If you don't want to go read the whole letter, I'll sum it up for you. Basically this guy is complaining that he was "rudely" ejected from the UGA football game last Saturday because he refused to sit down when the people behind him, the ushers, AND the police asked him to do so. According to him, he "deserves the right" to stand up throughout the entire game, and anyone who doesn't want to stand up can either switch seats with him or stay home.

It's people like this guy who give the rest of us UGA fans a bad name. We already have enough fans who are jerks. Why did he have to put the proof in writing?

So I fired off a response to his letter. I've never written a letter to the editor before, although many times I've thought to myself, "I'd like to give that guy/gal a piece of my mind."

Here is what I said in my letter:

To the Georgia fan who was chagrined to find himself ejected from the UGA game last Saturday:

I’m glad you are a dedicated enough fan to sit through rain and help pull the Dawgs through. Fans are a big part of UGA’s football program, and it is exciting to hear the roar of the crowd.

However, your rights end where another person’s rights begin. You do NOT deserve the “right” to stand up if you block the view of another fan. The people behind you are just as entitled to see the events of the game as you are, and they pay the same ticket prices you do (theoretically).

Jumping up to cheer during an exciting play is one thing. Standing throughout the entire game is entirely different. The assertion that people who don’t want to stand throughout the game should stay home is preposterous and immature. How about if you want to stand up, you go stand in the student section?

I hope you do come back this weekend to cheer on the Dawgs. I hope you and your friends can pull them through again. I’ll be home watching on television. And if you insist on standing and obstructing the view of those behind you, I hope you are again escorted from the stadium.

I don't know if they will print it or not. If they do, I'm putting it on my resume. Hey, published writing is published writing.

I'm just sayin'.......