The Last Word

Everyone has an opinion, right?  Many of us share our opinions broadly (like, I don’t know, just spitballin’ here) through a daily Substack newsletter called “In My Opinion” ) but others are more reticent.  The Virginia Gazette has a feature called “The Last Word,” which allows readers to submit their opinions anonymously over the telephone or by email.  For people who don’t want to write a “Letter to the Editor” or an op-ed, “The Last Word” is a place to vent.  Here are some selected items from today’s paper.

Gratitude is always an excellent way to start.  These are the “thank you’s” in today’s Last Word:

The Last Word can sometimes be informative, as people post about upcoming events. Here are a couple of examples from today’s newspaper:

Sometimes people write about local service providers:

• I think that these businesses sometimes write their own laudatory reviews for “The Last Word,” but these three look authentic.

Often, people are looking for solutions to a problem:

Politics always provides something for people to exchange views about:

• The writer of this meant to reference the First Amendment, not the Second, but we get the point.

People sometimes write about serious local problems:

And then there is the ongoing discussion about parking:

And finally, the library.  Always the library:

One thing that’s interesting about this newspaper feature is watching generational battles play out:

1. People often ask questions that could be answered through a pretty simple Google search.  But folks who don’t use computers regularly don’t think to Google.

2. People write about their unwillingness (or inability) to use a smartphone to do things that are available only through various apps – like parking.  They’re frustrated but they don’t want to change how they do things. They’re often crotchety.

3. People call in their “Last Word” items and then ask for a response in the paper. They are apparently willing to wait a while to get a response to their query. Or they’ll put their phone number in their entry and ask respondents to call them.  Who does that?

4. And the person looking for a phone book.  Adorbs.