Davis: 'Fuddy Duddy' gives critic a reason to smile
The writer of a letter to the editor that appears on this page takes some pretty good jabs at the Daily Herald in his unsolicited critique of the Saturday, Nov. 21, edition.
Mostly, he bemoans the plethora of "disheartening events of the day." Indeed, he ticks off considerable evidence from the news section: A siege in Mali; debate about Syrian refugees; "the Donald" (apparently the topic in and of itself is disheartening); Elgin cleric charged with more sexual abuse; black Chicago teen shot by white Chicago cop.
The writer, Richard Morland of Elgin, shifts to the opinion page, where he credits the great minds of this newspaper (editors) for producing a "pretty benign" Saturday Soapbox (at least it wasn't disheartening). Editorial cartoons were pertinent, if "nothing to bring a smile to your face." He recaps a number of letters that, even though he didn't say so, could reasonably be viewed as disheartening. Or certainly the topics. (Trump again.)
But lest you think this was all about the DH being, in the immortal words of Spiro Agnew, nattering nabobs of negativism, Mr. Morland changes course in his final paragraph. I enjoyed it so much, I share with you:
"Then I saw it! Some self-described fuddy duddy ranting about what a sin it was for Mike Ditka to wear a Packers sweater in a commercial. The only sin here is the way the Bears have played the last few years. I knew there was something in the Herald funnier than your lame comics page. Thanks to Fuddy-Duddy for writing these hilarious words, and thanks to the Herald for publishing them."
Because I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, I didn't even take offense at our comics page being called "lame." (Did you know that we once sued the Chicago Tribune, challenging their "territorial exclusivity" on comics, which basically prevented us from picking up the non-lame ones they carried. The lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in Chicago.)
Maybe it's because I write this column on the day before Thanksgiving and I'm in a thankful, glass-is-half-full kind of mood, I see some real flattery in Mr. Morland's note. He refers to Page 3, our Local Focus page, as "pretty decent with feel-good stories."
Ah hah! There was no recap, but allow me to remind you of what ran that day in the Elgin edition: A story about the Elgin Police Department adding two more dogs to its K-9 unit and the officers assigned as handlers. I say this in all sincerity: Everyone loves a good animal story, especially ones with photos. A story about Waubonsee Community College expecting so many graduates it plans to hold to ceremonies in May. And the other top-of-the-page piece was about a change in a coroner's ruling in a three-year-old death investigation. That seemingly disheartening topic took an upbeat tone when staff writers Sara Hooker and Jim Fuller wrote that the ruling made a finding crucial to a St. Charles family: Their 19-year-old daughter's death was "undetermined," rather than the suicide it had been previously declared.
I'll readily admit the news of day, especially these days, disheartens me, too. And not that we don't cover our share of depressing stories, but we do try to mirror the suburbs we cover. They're mostly nice places inhabited by good, hardworking people. Maybe this is naive, but my take-away from Mr. Morland's critique is this: Despite the abundance of disheartening news, readers always find something in the Daily Herald that makes them smile.
jdavis@dailyherald.com