From: "Armond "Si" Simmons" Subject: Letters Date: Friday, September 27, 2002 7:12 PM The Daily Home Feature Editor in an article, "A job too WELL done", Sep 4, protests, "How many people are actually going to try and swipe something out of one of those big discount stores we all have to go to every once in a while?" It appears that the Feature Editor was recently stopped at a discount store Shoplifter Checkpoint by a store employee whose paid job is to check our bags to insure that we aren't among those who are robbing these stores daily to the tune of millions of dollars. Well, it seems the Feature Editor trashed her receipt before reaching the Shoplifter Checkpoint, pointing out that, "To me, it made perfect sense for her to just wave me on by as the checkers usually do". The Feature Editor then had to return to the checkout counter and search through "a bunch of nasty fast food leftovers that got gooey stuff all over my hands". Finding the receipt, she returned to the Shoplifter Checkpoint only to have the store's alarm go off as she walked through the exit. The article goes on to complain of "scrutiny", "tired of killing time", "freedom nowhere in sight" and tells of finally succumbing to the urge for a cigarette and "lighting up" in a "No Smoking" area. To add insult, this Feature Editor used a newspaper "Features" editorial to lambaste and berate a local store employee who performed her job exactly as it was expected by the employer and sanctioned by law. Did I learn much about a Shoplifter Checkpoint "job too WELL done"? No, but I learned a lot about a Feature Editor who has little time for things that are not "really an issue". I wonder how this Feature Editor handles "little issues" such as traffic STOP signs. In short, I felt that this freneticism over frivolity in the store and in the column lacked literary, social or moral acumen. Armond "Si" Simmons Pell City, AL 35128 104 Wadsworth Lane 205 338 7378 psysim@coosahs.net http://psysim.www7.50megs.com/html/dustoff.htm