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

Another Entry for the "Is This Really Necessary?" Department......

Does anyone remember the days of yore, long ago, when newspapers were all black and white? (And read all over, I know, I know.) The "want ads" (known as the "classifieds" these days) were not only all text, they had clever abbreviations and codes that made it a challenge just to figure out what was being sold.

These days you sometimes find sections of the classifieds that are in color. For an additional fee, you can request bold type, perhaps an icon or clip art. As printing options became cheaper and more readily available, photos actually started appearing in advertisements.

I can see the advantage of using a photograph to sell a house or a car. Even a small picture generally gives a pretty good idea of what shape the car is in, and a description of a house is nothing without an accompanying picture.

Photographs began appearing with other items for sale, though. Baby crib for sale (with a picture). Well, yes that is indeed a baby crib. Grandfather clock (with a picture). Never mind that the picture gives no indication of how many scratches the clock may have. It simply verifies that the seller indeed has a grandfather clock. Or a picture of a grandfather clock.

Pictures of motorcycles are useful, as the many number and letter combinations used to distinguish different models mean absolutely nothing to me. Likewise a picture of an RV for sale - the fact that it's 30 feet in length meant nothing to me before we actually had an RV, but a photo would help me decide whether or not I wanted it.

Putting pictures of puppies in the classifieds is playing dirty. We don't want or need another dog, and Gus would NOT be an ideal big brother. But for the past week there has been an adorable black Pomeranian puppy in the classifieds of our local paper, and if he stays there much longer, I'm afraid Hubby won't be able to control himself. We already have a name picked out for him: Deets. If you are aware that Gus' name came from the character played by Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove, you will get the Deets connection.

I have seen a couple of pictures in the classifieds here lately that make me wonder why the seller would fork over the extra money it costs to include a photo with the ad. One person is offering firewood for sale, and he includes a picture of a neat stack of firewood as proof that is indeed what he is selling. Really? You have to SHOW me what a stack of firewood looks like? Unless he's advertising that he's going to stack it just that neatly when he delivers it (in which case I'm calling him immediately), I'm thinking the photograph is unnecessary.

The one that really boggled my mind, though, was a photograph accompanying an ad for a ...... burial plot. It's sad enough to offer a burial plot for sale in the newspaper. But a photograph? Do you know what a photograph of a burial plot looks like (unless it's in the process of being used, which would be a whole different can of worms)? It looks like a picture of the ground. With possibly some flowers in the distant background. The picture was black and white, though, and about two inches square. I think it must have been an unscrupulous salesperson who talked that person into an accompanying photograph.

I know, I know, half of you think you would like to trade your problems for mine. And the rest of you think I should consider professional help.