During December 2017, two people called me and both of them said I needed to quit writing about smoking and find another subject. After thinking about it for a long time, maybe two or three seconds, I thought about this.

Last summer, my 4-year-old grandson was spending the day with me. A woman from my trailerhood stopped by to help me with some yard work. My grandson was running around in the yard barefooted, as he should have been.

The neighbor bellowed out at him, “Jake! You need to put some shoes on. You could get bee stung!”

Jake just looked at her calmly and said, “Actually, I get my rules from my mother.”

So for my two concerned callers, “Sorry boys, but I actually get my rules from Jake’s mother, too.”

Here goes another subject. Maybe this one will suit you two better.

A short but profound letter was published on Dec. 14, 2017, by Ann Powlas. Thank you, Ann, for a fine letter.

Releasing balloons is not only dangerous to wildlife, but stupid, too. Not quite as stupid as allowing smoking around all the precious little children in the RoCo parks, but almost.

If you toss just one empty beer can out of your car, you’re subject to a great big fine for littering.

But if you release 100s of balloons, you’ll get a front page story in the Salisbury Post with plenty of pictures.

Please, Ann Powlas, keep up your campaign about this very unnecessary act. Maybe you will have better luck with the feckless leaders of this very backward county than I have for the past 14 years.

— Whitey Harwood

Rowan County