Heckler's farewell

Random calls on a Thursday rarely produce such excitement. A transferred call and I find my latest column under assault by a reader who just didn't comprehend what I actually set out to say. That's fine - ignorance makes the world spin. But when reader just wants to rant, I cut to the chase and move on

When she said she had a problem with my editorial, the timing failed to line up - any lingering complaints about the excoriation propping up our candidate editorials were moot. The column under criticism was a piece about Columbus moving up in the world and leaving behind its "Cowtown" label.

Houston and Kansas City are Cowtowns, she said. Aside from an honorary cattle drive through Houston earlier this week, neither town clings to that connotation much anymore. It's just a slice of heritage in a steel metropolis.
"Cowtowns made American what it is today and people like me just want to poke fun at that way of life. As long as there are cows in Columbus, it will always be a Cowtown".... it's already faded enough from memory that I must recite her angry words in generalities.

Anyway, the rant was too far along for my witty interjection about the major herds that still roam at Ohio State's agricultural facilities. Any structure of conversation long ago collapsed on itself, and the caller raged on from the debris pile.

When the heckler launched into the "You should move to New York City or Los Angeles" portion of her diatribe, I stopped listening and cut her off with my single-best conversation-ender in years:
"As long as I annoy people like you, I think I'll stay in Columbus. Have a nice day."

Hecklers ... you have to know to deal with them, and when to shut them down with a word.