The Reporter’s notebook in last week’s issue was a lousy, poorly-written story, so filled with meaningless scribble-babble in the first paragraph – far and away from the point the editor had intended when he asked for, or rather ordered – a story about Christmas tree sales. It was so distant in time and place that he had already composed the headline: “Forget Black Friday, get a Christmas Tree.” The only likely appreciation might possibly be a Dishonorable Mention in the 2015 Bulwer-Lytton Awards for Failed Effort.

The paragraph: The weekend following Thanksgiving, including “Black Friday,” is when many Americans choose to show their gratitude and appreciation for their many blessings in life by storming the gates of retail stores, swarming through aisles and engaging in quasi-mortal combat with another soccer mom over who will ultimately claim possession of the new electronics gadget at a questionably reduced price, only to find out it’s already obsolete by the time they get it to the checkout stand.

Ross Murphy, Kirkland