From Pat Laster:
Dear Cynthia and Sandy,
        Since I watched with bated (had to check the spelling) breath the UA-LSU football game yesterday (Black Friday), from 1:30 until 6:00--three overtimes until a Razorback intercepted a LSU pass giving us the victory--I didn't think to pick up the mail from the streetside box. Imagine my surprise when I opened it this morning to a full "house." The bulky white envelope surely had to contain the three back issues of the new Saline County (AR) Voice that I had subscribed to when the paper was slick-baby new.
        But no, the return address said Calliope. "Aha! It's here," I said aloud to the breezy, crisp air, meaning the next issue. Inside the house, I snipped off the end, and to my surprise, five issues fell out.
        "Wha...?" Picking up a copy, I noticed the words, First Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Pat Laster. If I had dentures, I'm sure they would have fallen out. (Hope that's not politically incorrect.) I knew I had two stories already scheduled, so when I asked Cynthia if I should not do the column, she said, "Send it on. I'm greedy, right?" I sent it on.
        It just so happened that at this time, I was eating a left-over apple dumpling for breakfast, one of two that I'd brought back home from the family Thanksgiving meal after I'd left several for the host and his daughter. But, after this meal, I was eating only carrots, celery sticks, grape tomatoes, etc.
        After I read the nice things you girls wrote, I treated myself to the other dumpling and added a slab of ice cream! (Tomorrow, I'll start with the veggies.)
        Gee, what an ego-builder! All those around here who think that all I do is church music and grandson-raising--won't they be in for a surprise! Again, thanks. I DO appreciate you two, even though I've never set eyes on either of you--except for your picture, Cynthia (put Sandy's in next issue).
        I say, "Hear, hear" about the new postal regulations. And congratulations to Arnie for his loving new family.
 
                                                            Love,
                                                            Pat Laster
    
  
    
From Robert Weisz:
Hello, Sandy! Hello, Cynthia!
        Wow! What a nice surprise!  I received 2 comp copies of the Fall 2007 Calliope today and "Neutrinos" was in there.  I didn't expect that; I thought it was targeted only for the website.  I appreciate it very much.
        I agree with Mr. Vidro's letter that the quarterly schedule is much better.  As always, I look forward to my copy, whenever it comes.
        At the moment, I'm more than busily pumping out words for a novel.  I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year.  (www.nanowrimo.org)   It is held every year in calendar November.  The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel(la) from scratch in 30 days.  It's the 21st today and I'm at about 39,000 words!  The end is in sight.
        Keep up the fine work! and...thanks again!

From Gordon Graves:  
        Relay my thanks to Paul Hetzler for letting me ride on his coat tails (Gordon’s response in #116 to Hetzler’s update of “The Three Little Pigs” in #115).         I have received my copy of Calliope #117, in spite of all your difficulties with the USPS. From my travels, I would say it is about time the SW caught up with the rest of the country. The rest of us have been standing in line for years at the Post Office, if not forever.
        No doubt it has come to pass that the Post Office efficiency expert has finally rotated to the SW. Benches are very inefficient when it comes to sweeping. “What sweeping?” you may ask. It may not show, and I have yet to catch anyone in the act since I’ve moved to Oregon, but back in Georgetown, I occasionally encountered an individual in the lobby leaning on a broom. On days when his ambition got the best of him, he made an effort to stand behind patrons who were opening their mail boxes. Worse, the sweeper might sit on the bench. That would make management look bad.
        Fortunately Mensa and Calliope have no opinions, and in Calliope, other than in “Coffee Break,” opinions seldom are vehemently expressed. If you think the problems of print will drive you to electronic publishing, let me tell you a little story about an editor friend of mine who went that route a few years back.
        This editor had a small, compared to Calliope, print run--almost a group of friends. She published animal “friendly” horror and fantasy mostly. She developed, I don’t know why, an aversion to our unelected president. Occasionally this quirk would show through in print. As many of the micro press do, she chose a far out name for her mag, and eventually her web site. Probably fewer than half our high school graduates, or for that matter politicians, could define either of the two words she used (correctly).
        I think some effort went into the web site. Thanks to not having an online capable computer, I use the library. I get an hour once or twice a week. I have little interest in publishing for the web, so I have not visited her site in a long time. Early this week, I had a few minutes to spare and tried to drop in. I think she has pulled all her work down. Some aficionados of unhealthy sex practices—think the breaking point in “Last Tango in Paris”— have posted at least fifty entries at her old address.
        I would think folks, no matter how perverted, who want to attract interested parties to their site would use words with some connotation to the promoted practice, or lacking that, at least something provocative and understood. Therefore, I doubt seriously that this address was plucked out of thin air, and cannot imagine that it has the remotest connection to what is going on at the site today.  
 
Reply from CS: Interesting. Just to clarify…are you saying Dick C. has an army of web guys who go out to trash radical sites?
  
  
From Donald Sullivan:
        Reading "Going Postal" reminded me of my years working in the federal service.  You wouldn't believe some of the stupid, idiotic decisions some government officials make.  Maybe someday I'll write a book...
        Reading "Falling Leaves" reminded me of my own experience in getting a new dog after losing our little Cookie.   A woman was looking for a home for a two-year-old Schnauzer because her bigger dogs picked on Pepper.  Our vet found scars all over her back. Unlike Arnold, Pepper tried to return home a couple of times--zipping out open doors before we could catch her.  But now you couldn't drag her away with a twenty-mule team. 
        The stories in #117 are super.  I had a very hard time in trying to pick a favorite, but two of them tied: "The Who-done-it Game" and "Rock."   Best ending:  "I blamed it on The Birds."  Saddest ending:  "Mr. Ubergang."  Most imaginative: "Neutrinos."
        Congratulations to Pat Laster for winning The Special Lifetime Achievement Award.   The excerpt from "The Wedding Dress" is a good example of why she won.