CSI: Editorial Department

I recently wrote a letter to the Editor of one of our community newspapers. It was a response to another letter they had printed the week before.

The paper printed my letter in their last issue, which is exciting.

What was not exciting was that the letter was edited. Badly. The Editor well and truly butchered my pronouns. Take a look (the 2nd paragraph is the bloodiest):

To the Editor:

I'm writing in response to Sue Ulry's letter (The Booster, Sept. 24) regarding her frustration about the recent power outage that affected Central Ohio.

First, some practical advice for Sue: contact your insurance company. She may find that they are quite willing to cut her a check for the $200 in groceries you lost, with no impact on her deductible.

Second, if all she lost is some food, she should consider herself lucky. Unlike others in our area (not to mention the unfortunate individuals in places like Texas, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, and Haiti), she didn't lose her home, her livelihood or her life. She was merely inconvenienced.

I hope this gives her -- and other Central Ohioans who feel the need to complain -- some much-needed perspective. It could have been worse.

I hope none of my prospective clients read The Booster . . .