A Stodghill Says So blog:
Love those unintentional, humorous things you sometimes find in newspapers. In reporting a high school football game involving the Bulldogs a headline writer shortened it to Dogs for the sake of brevity. The team seemed to have a few problems in its opener so the coach of the Dogs said, "We had some snapping issues."
OK, I thought it was funny.
Far be it from me to beat my own drum, but like they say, "If you don't beat it yourself, nobody will beat it for you." With that sage bit of advice in mind I will quote a comment by James Lincoln Warren, highly-regarded writer of mystery short stories and founder of Criminal Brief (http://www.criminalbrief.com/). I had written something about a story by Alexander Pushkin and this is a portion of JLW's response:
"Allow me to plug the November issue of Alfred Hitchcock, the lead story of which, 'Deathtown', you wrote.
"It is a fabulous story, evocative and tough. Hammettesque. I especially loved your discount femme fatale. To give our readers a brief taste, let me quote the opening sentence:
"'I had forty-seven cents in my pocket when the gas gauge hit empty and I coasted to a stop in front of a roadside diner on the outskirts of a gritty place called Dealtown.'
"How can you go wrong with an opening like that?"


Wow! Coming from JLW, that's a supreme compliment.
Some people may be unaware that James Lincoln Warren also founded the Professional Hack Authors RecogniTion Society, whose acronym is PHARTS.
There are several classifications of membership and I am proud to bear the title OLD PHART. I consider this among my prized honors. The others include. . .well, give me a moment and something may come to mind.

Dick,

Congratulations!

Wow! Another compliment.

How many more times are you going to post this? Sheesh!

Hey, I'm just getting warmed up!

Good!

I know you are a great author without anyone with clout saying so...........

... see, Alice and DK love you. Is that not enough?

No, I want more.

Shelagh,

How absolutely adorable!

Looks just like Maisie. Of course all golden hamsters look just like Maisie. . .and Sophie and Joey and. . .

Now I'd really be happy!

Little Johnny attended a Horse Auction with his father.
He watched as his father moved from horse to horse, running his hands up and down the horse's legs, rump and chest.
After a few minutes, Johnny asked,
'Dad, why you doin' that?'
His father replied, 'Because when I'm buying horses, I have to make sure that they are healthy and in good shape before I buy.
Johnny,looking worried, said, 'Dad, I think the UPS guy wants to buy mom.

Good one, Abe.