The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter., 1962-07-27
Fridays
Child
By LAWRENCE MADDRY

Anonymous letters are like
Mary Jane with wrappers which
stick to the candy and ball point
pens that skip. All are exasper-
ating enough to twitch the navel
off a nervous nun.
But unsigned notes also have
a lurking quality like Ku Klux
Klansmen, snakes, cancer and
shadow dwelling assasins. There
is no defense against them. They
shock the heart.
1 am too young and palpably
beserk to receive one without a
reaction which must be akin to
that experienced by Christian
martyrs in the Roman arena, or
the stark terror bred in the
heart of a timid airline steward
ess who hears a ticking noise in
the planes washroom. They are
a hair-rising- -on-the- back the
meek kind of thing.
The one / received last Mon
day arrived in plain white en-
velope addressed to Lawrence
Maddry, City. My name and the
address were printed neatly a.
cross its face. The envelope
came with a postage due label
across the front which had al
ready been paid by someone
here in the office. 1t had been
placed on the top of my type
writer.
Inside was the following mes
sage: "Good reporters should
report the news-not create it."
It came from an unsigned some
body out there. It has made a
living hell of my life. / must
answer it.
Dear Anonymous,
Frankly / haven't created any
news since the summer of 1888,
when l was four years old
trapped my toe inside the toilet
stool in the basement of the
Presbyterian Church at Lumber
ton, and was sawed out after
dancing a jig on my free foot fol
five and half hours. The head
line for that story was some
thing of an alltime low fol-
newspaper reporting.
Since that date, / have made
a conscious effort to stay out Of
the papers and succeeded in the
attempt until my recent en-
ployment here. If by creating
the news" you mean that EN-,
broider the truth. am guilty. :.
To be honest, / have lied SO
often, heard so many falsehood
and seen facts twisted into SO
many knots of prejudiced opin-
ion that I've learned to love
them and feel more at home in
their distored company.
1t is the same affection which
dumb animal feels for its pad
No matter how humble, it's my
lie and I'll bed in it, or some
thing like that.
1 know that good reporters
should report the news and not
make it. Somehow anonymous
this here thing has got holt OF
me and can't stop. I just keep
lying and lying and lying. ;.
"Dear me-" cried Mrs. Spaniel
"what will the neighbors
think? 2"
"They WON'T" said Gissing, 81
don't doubt they'll talk, but they
won't think. thinking is very
rare"
!, Christopher Morley
"Where the Blue Begins" 1922
In Korea, I had an army bud
dy from Ohio whose pride ano
Joy was an advertising card usec
by his fathers dairy which read
"McDonald's Dairy. You car
whip our cream, but you just
can't beat our butter"
Il At Chapel Hill, a garage
l;wrecker is emblazoned with q
/ sign which reads: "We pull fol
IU. N. c." The most interesting
sign we've ever heard of is To-
Gated in Asheville, where, ac-
cording to Sam, Ragan, a laun,
| dry window carries the follow
ing: "Ladies who drop off all
their clothing here will receive
special attention." No doubt.
My grandmother, Mrs. Robert
C. Lawrence sent me the follow.
ing. 1t is published on the basis
of its having appeared during 9
television broadcast from Wilm-
ington, N. c., because it is good
and because l love her. 1t is as
follows:
On the time soaked shores
of Roanoke
In the blood-washed long age
With banded heads and taut
drawn bow
Grim red men lurked =.
Now in the wooded blue and