Letter to the Editor: Really....?

To the Editor:

Perhaps fellow readers can tell me what is really good for what? Is catnip really okay for cats? Does Juicy Fruit gum really kill moles? Does baking soda water and honey really help to fight cancer? How much sleep should you really get at night?

There are probably more than a million suggestions and recommendations out there without really any proof for them. Lets face it, what self-respecting scientist is going to put a camera in a mole hole to determine if the Juicy Fruit really killed a hungry mole?

What really bothers me is when folks present fix-it facts that are accompanied by an attitude of attitude like, “Oh really, you didn’t you know?” Maybe these are now being referred to as ‘alternative facts’.

So, the point is I find myself hanging on to what people say because of how they say it, not based on any valid reality. Maybe more personalized statements would be easier for me to swallow than that Juicy Fruit gum. I’d prefer something like: “At least it really worked for me.” “I wonder if this really works?”  “I really just heard about this, and maybe it’s worth a try!”

Sometimes it seems like people are really not-so-subtly just trying to tell me what to do. I think that’s why I tend to spend as much time as possible in Nature, cooking and hanging out with animals. At least I get some directions I really understand and can usually accept.

Yours “really”,
“Catfish Annie”
Ann Gallagher
Lansing