Anony-fan Letter in My Mailbox

[XLFD]

I'm not totally unused to getting stopped at local places and being recognized as "that guy" on the Ludington city council videos talking common sense or as the citizen pilloried on the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) or as the plaintiff in a host of 'open government' lawsuits.  I'm a lot more used to being contacted on-line through my website, e-mail account, or via Facebook messenger, almost always with a tip or a gripe about some local officials.  These are almost exclusively positive encounters.

But I only seem to get anonymous 'fan' letters through snail mail during the two times I have walked for office (I would say 'ran', but I didn't even get a third of the vote either time).  This last week I received a letter without any return address and with my address hand printed in ink.  Always a lover of mystery, I opened the missive and found three pages of 8.5" X 10" size inside-- where the top of each page had been clipped off, probably to chop off the letterhead that would give me an idea as to their identity.  

Everybody in the house was accounted for, so I doubted it was a letter from a kidnapper, but I didn't have to read much beyond the first line to know that it was from a supporter.  "Tom, I support everything you do."  Now, I definitely knew I was dealing with a crackpot, for I have yet to meet anybody so demented to support everything I do (except that bizarre dude I always see in the silvered glass always looking at me).  Though I half suspected a sales pitch to follow, the rest of the letter turned out to be as groovy as that first line.  

And after reading it, I found there was nothing in the three pages that would give away the identity of the crafter of it.  So I decided to share it here with the rest of the Torch readership to not only show that there is a lot of fellowship in the way most city residents think, but also to let city hall know there is another person who totally supports me (who is not fully institutionalized in one way or another) and could present a problem if that next anonymous letter to my house is from my kidnappers.

I can't believe he/she came up with that popcorn idea before I did.  I wish to thank whoever sent this anonymous letter for letting me (and now a much wider audience) in on what a significant and often silent portion of Ludington citizens think about the topics covered.  They see city officials bully and belittle people offering their reasoned (and often most popular) positions, and know that they would suffer the same if they expressed them. 

Citizens should not be fearful of city hall, but in Ludington they have been for many years due to a clique of mostly unelected officials controlling policy.  Let's change that.

[Freedom Seeker]

Good points Anonymous.

[Willy]

Welcome to the Torch Anon. The letter appears to have been created on a typewriter so I'm assuming Anon. is not a millennial with his head buried in a smart phone. That letter hit's the nail right on the head. Popcorn huh?  Unless all the food and garbage is not cleaned up everyday there will be no need to seed the park with popcorn. The birds, rats, raccoons, possums, skunks and every other stray animal will be fighting over it every night. Thanks for the letter Anon.

[XLFD]

Somebody located the missing inch of letterhead; what a surprise:

[Willy]

That is funny X. One of those letter heads had a little more information on it

[Freedom Seeker]

Some smart person is figuring it out. His name is XLFD. That letterhead should say: We gang up and attack any who oppose us, and I'm one of the leaders of the gang.

[jfc123]

Such a beautiful city to look at! But, to do business or live in it is rough! Unless you are part of the "chosen" and that is a darn shame! Please new city manager, change things for the better!

[Du Wright]

I'm beginning to think that too, jfc.  If gas taxes, auto insurance, infrastructure cost, road repair, local millages for schools and sewer, and water and other fees, now even garbage bin keep going up, it's not going to be so pretty.  We might have to have an equivalent city wage and pensions to afford to even live here, let alone try to do business that competes with the city marina(s).  The city council needs to consider the average wage of locals before making so many more grandiose projects that will tax us out of our houses and businesses.  That's hard to comprehend if your getting three times the average local salary and benefits which to most are not available.