From 1995 till 1997, I wrote a humor column, “The Gad About Town,” for a great weekly newspaper in Sullivan County, New York. (I still read it online.) It held the distinction of being the only column in the newspaper that did not generate even one letter from readers. Another editorial columnist, a genial elderly man, wrote the most innocuous weekly pieces and received the most vituperative letters disagreeing with everything he wrote. I admired that this only amused him.

I did create one controversy, once: our music columnist used his own space one week to disagree with me and take me to task about something I had written the week before. Since he could have written a letter to the editor complaining about me and also submitted his usual column, but chose to sacrifice his space to rebut me, I became skeptical about his music suggestions. (I believe he is still writing for the paper and I am here, writing for no pay two decades later, so I think we can safely say that he won in the long run.)
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