[From the January 28, 1971 edition, Page 1A]

Mrs. Clara Young, Red Boiling Springs, was rather upset when she called me last Friday morning after receiving her Macon County Times. Seems that pages two and three were blank in her paper, and she wanted to know what was wrong as all her neighbors received a complete paper.

That was a good question she ask, and I didn’t have any answer for it, as I don’t know what happened.

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You folks who keep sending me these unsigned letters, either sign your name to them or save your six cent stamp as they will not be published.

Some of these letters are extra good and I would be happy to print them. To me a person doesn’t believe very strong in what they are writing if they are ashamed to sign them.

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You know I’ve wondered for the past several months why whoever is in charge, couldn’t at least get a telephone booth installed at the airport. I know it wouldn’t make a fortune, but I’ll bet it would take in more per month than the phone booth across from the pool hall just off the square on Scottsville Road.

I’ve gotta see Harris Howser about this, and see if something can’t be worked out.

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Last Thursday afternoon I happened to drop by Ben Franklin 5 and 10 to chat with my friend Carl Baker, when Dorothy Walton, one of the clerks in the store, remarked to me that she hoped I kept on writing about Carl snapping his false teeth and as she put it, “when he gets a little nervous they really chatter.”

I could tell right off that Carl didn’t appreciate the remark, but he kept his “cool” and didn’t say anything right then. But a few moments later Dorothy ask Carl if he wanted her to carry a group of small baskets upstairs and put them on display.

Here’s the way the conversation went the best I can remember. “Have you counted them,” he ask. “No,” she replied “but the box says there are 72 baskets. “It might be a good idea to count them, that is provided you can count to 72,” Carl said, and I knew he was trying to get even with her for what she had said to me.

But it backfired – “After being around you as long as I have, I don’t know whether I can count that high or not,” was the answer he got.

Carl looked at me and said, “I sometimes think I’ll just go out in the woods and shoot myself.”

Naturally, I agreed with him that it might be a good idea.

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I know all you football fans are wondering where Dean Fisher will be coaching this fall.

I can tell you this much, he will be an assistant coach at one of the major universities in the South.

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Received the following note from an old classmate of mine Claude Mongle of Norwalk, Cal. Dear Charles:

A few lines from Southern California to say I look forward to each issue of my Macon County Times.

I enjoy reading “Snooping Around” along with so many of your other interesting articles – keep up the good work.

I suppose you are experiencing some cold weather back there. We have had a few days or record temperatures here in Southern California and this past week the temperature was 90 to 95 (nice huh?)

Some how I get the impression that he’s sorta bragging about the climate don’t you?