Some things better left unwritten

By Staff
Scot Beard
One of the perks of this job is having the ability to write the weekly column you are reading now.
It gives me the opportunity to offer my opinions or to make observations about what is going on in the world.
In a way it is therapeutic. I am able to get on my soapbox and speak my peace.
I also understand readers are not always interested in what I think so I try to offer them humorous stories from time to time in an effort to brighten their day.
In recent weeks however, I have learned I have to be careful about which humorous stories I chose to write about.
About three weeks ago I wrote about my wife coming out of surgery and admitting she had gotten into a fight with one of the hospital workers when they were both in high school.
It was intended to be a funny, but cautionary tale. It became popular with our family members and the column was taken to various offices and my wife is now known as the "fighting patient" in five counties across north Alabama.
My wife thought the column was funny, but she was upset because she felt I did not relay the story accurately enough and she came across as being the instigator. She corrected me and said she had to react because the other girl had made a scene in a crowded cafeteria.
I had intended to relay an odd situation to the readers and ended up upsetting my wife.
This past weekend I was at my mother's house in Morgan County when another unusual, yet funny situation occurred.
I chuckled and remarked the event would make for a pretty good column.
My mother looked at me and said, "You better not."
I stopped and thought about it. I realized that while the moment was funny to me, it might not be as funny to those around me or to my readers.
I hated to come to this realization, because I enjoy writing the humorous stories, especially when I do not have anything else to write about.
Though I will continue to write my humorous stories, I will give them much more thought before I send them out into the world. After all, it isn't so humorous when you embarrass the people you love.