I suspect that anybody interested enough in The Mercury to be scanning this blog would agree with me: Sound-Off is one of the best parts of the paper, day in and day out.
As an editor, I once frowned on the concept of people calling in unattributed comments by phone to go into print. Even when other papers around reported its popularity, I resisted adding it to The Mercury. In fact, it took a corporate directive to make it a regular feature.
I admit I was wrong.
With some monitoring, Sound-Off is a great feature. It is not just a chance for people to take shots anonymously at their public officials or their neighbors. It is also a wonderful way to share ideas and debate the little things in life that do not rise to the level of public discourse or a letter to the editor.
Things like where to get rye bread reminiscent of the kind Prince's Bakery used to make.
How to find good snapper soup in a restaurant.
Can you use kerosene in an oil burner safely?
What to do with old wire clothes hangers.
Of course, people also sound-off their annoyances about their neighbors' loud dogs or messy yards, their opinions on local politics and police, their anger at coaches who don't put the callers' kids in the game, and their frustration over rising taxes and late trash pickup.
But, they also compliment the school bands, thank the Good Samaritans, and tell the world that someone kindly returned a found wallet with money intact.
Sound-Off offers much more than a chance to gripe. It's a snapshot of life in the communities and countryside around here.
And, where else can you find an ongoing debate about a half-dressed holiday decoration that ends on the day after Christmas with the following pronouncement:
"The bare butt Santa is now wearing pants..."
You gotta love it.