Letters are important in this line of work, whether they are the old-fashioned kind that come through the post office, or take the form of faxes or computerized Internet messages. Often, a letter contains helpful information or useful ideas. I always like this kind. Sometimes a letter points out a grammatical error or a factual slipup. I usually appreciate this kind.
Some letters say the senders enjoyed something they read in the paper.
Some letters say they didn't. Some senders obviously were happy about something when they wrote. Others obviously were frustrated or angry about something. And sometimes it was the very same something that made the ones happy which made the others angry. But instead of procrastinating indefinitely, I would like to answer all of them at the same time to tie up this very frazzled loose end with one knot.