Time again to check the e-mail box for readers' comments. You can't make up this stuff.

• "I feel Gil Smart is a blubbering idiot. I will never visit or read your newspapers ever again since I watched him spouting off about protesters and Fox News. I now see you are a liberal newspaper."

Thanks for reminding me to tell readers that you can catch Mr. Smart's video column every week on LancasterOnline.com. If you think he's scary in print ...

• "I applaud you for not putting the recent march on Washington by those right-wing lunatics on the front page. You should not have printed the story at all.

"The less coverage those idiots get the better for America.

"Keep up the good work and thank God for Gil Smart!"

I promise never to reveal your identity.

• "Hail Obama. He's our new savior. What a joke. What is this man with a not-very-well-hidden chip on his shoulder against whites going to do? ...

"What he needs to do is start the draft back up and get some of his people off the streets of Chicago so they stop beating one another with railroad ties."

And you think health care is a divisive issue?

• From an e-mail newsletter:

"All of the people who don't have health care really do have health care. They can go to the emergency room and be treated. ..."

Who wrote that? Yogi Berra?

Thanks, but ...
• This is [name deleted], an America soldier stationed in Iraq. Please I need your help by keeping the two trunk boxes I discovered in Iraq which amounted to $23.2 million in U.S. dollars. Contact me through this e-mail for more information."

Didn't I see this plot in a George Clooney movie?

• From a writer of a letter to the editor:

"I received a personal letter at my home today which was very troubling. ... The letter, full of obscenities, contained no intelligent response to my fears and due to the fact that it went unsigned proved that the writer knew they were wrong in writing such a letter. Like those white-sheeted cowards of the KKK ... this particular individual would not reveal their name."

Sad to say, I do hear from writers of letters to the editor on controversial subjects who receive replies like this. Debate? No, it's hate.

• About TV Week:

"On Page 8, one of the best known football players in the country, Brett Favre. Look at how his name is misspelled —Farve. How embarrassing!"

If Brett Favre would ever retire and stay retired, we wouldn't have this problem.

• "I read your column every week. ... After this one I just wonder, people seem to be less and less positive. Maybe we should have a show called 'Editor Swap' and then see what the paper would look like then?"

This was sent to me after I did a column about our coverage of the tea party in Washington, D.C. It is a supportive note with the subject line: "Do you still enjoy your job?"

The answer: Yes, more than ever.

Checking the specials
Funny that about the time daughter Abigail can no longer order from the children's menu, I'm eligible to order from the senior citizens' side.