LEONARD GRAY

It’s mailbag time, and the picking is excellent

I love opening the mail, especially at work. My wife generally beats me to the punch at home, so I enjoy seeing the oddities that slip into a newspaper office. One handy note reminds me of the coming change in our area code, from 504 to 985. It includes a long list of telephone prefixes which will be included in the change, 253 different prefixes, by my count. The change begins on Feb. 12 and becomes mandatory on Oct. 22. What makes this bit of mail interesting is the cute assortment of stickers the company is selling in designer colors to remind you of the change. Useful idea, I suppose, but how hard will it be to remember a three-digit change during an eight-month transition period? Besides, I can just as easily get a sticky-note with the change scribbled on it and leave that by the phone. A gentleman in Eunice is assembling an organization across Louisiana of former mayors. My main question here is – why? I once did a series of interviews of former Kenner mayors and it was fun in a historical perspective but a permanent organization? February is, of course, National Children’s Dental Health Month, along with Black History Month. Both are important and I’ll deal with them. Press releases, though, get really interesting. United Van Lines insists that more people are moving to California. At the same time, something called Profiles of the American Worker declares that 75 percent of Americans do not plan to change jobs this year. Guess they all found work in California. E-mail also provides food for thought. A writer promoting his new novel about pool-hustling in Louisiana during the 1960s says in his e-mail that he mentions several LaPlace people in his book. Look for my book review on that one. Another e-mail is looking for funny family stories to collect into a book. That could be a hoot, but I always thought those stories were better if you personally knew the people involved. Letters to the editor can be fun and interesting. We certainly welcome every one we receive. However, please remember if you hope to see it in print, please sign it. Anonymous letters are not printed by this newspaper, under the idea that if someone is not brave enough to sign a name to their opinions, we’re not foolish enough to print them. Finally, the U.S. Census Bureau plans a study on how many children are “latchkey kids.” That shouldn’t be too hard – set up a speed-dial system, poll their study group and find out if the kids answer the phone. See? I just save the government a bunch of money! For my next trick, I’ll fund teacher pay raises, solve the Middle East crisis and discover how Florida elections work. LEONARD GRAY is assistant managing editor of L’Observateur.