Should have stayed at home yesterday

While Column 8 is no stranger to humiliation, Granny’s recent slip-up yesterday in running a piece in the print edition on the Enola Gay by the now notorious Gill Furey of Wollstonecraft that was already slated for Letters, left many readers feeling two-timed, with one, the sage Mick McGillion of Blaxland, suspecting that it was yet another cognitive test (C8). Luckily, he passed. Andrew Mowat of Beecroft gave it his best shot: “It seems that to get yourself published, it is useful to use both barrels of the shotgun … and no, I did not send this to the Letters page!” And Greg Phillipson of Aranda (ACT) pondered: “Is it an albatross or a unicorn when you get the same contribution posted in both Letters and Column 8?” More like a lemming.

“Further to self-identification (C8), I was reminded of a press report from the New York Post that a member of the consumer advisory board of Oregon Health Authority, JD Holt, goes by ‘JD Terrapin’ on Facebook and uses the preferred pronouns ‘They, them and turtle’,” remarks Anne McCarthy of Marrickville.

“We were also above the Arctic Circle in Norway last month just like Steve Hulbert (C8),” writes Rhoda Silber of Manly.” Seven huge huskies, each one barking to outdo the other, pulled us through the snowy forests on a sled, with just one driver behind us giving directions. It was certainly a long way from the Northern Beaches and an unforgettable experience!”

“The mysterious reappearance last summer of hordes of houseflies and their robust blue-green and red cousins, after the dung beetles decimated their summer plagues thirty-odd years ago, has caused me to purchase insect spray,” says Andrew Cohen of Glebe. “A further plague of fruit flies was impervious to the deadly mist and only an insignificant few succumbed. Any explanation, C8-ers?”

Toby Waters of Emerald Beach suggests giving the deadly mist a miss altogether: “It is my humble opinion that many people overestimate the dangers of spiders and vastly underestimate the risks of insect sprays. Please stop using them, they are more toxic than you think.”

To rid your home of cockroaches, Susan McMahon of Lismore says there’s “no need for skinks (C8). Just tell your kids to leave home. The crumbs in the gaps in our lounges from chips and biscuits had kept the cockroaches alive. It was cheaper, too, not having to employ pest controllers.”

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