‘My name is Crabby Appleton,
I’m rotten to the core
I do a bad deed every day,
and sometimes three or four.
I can’t stand fun for anyone,
I think good deeds are sappy,
I laugh with glee, it pleases me,
when everyone’s unhappy!’

Everyone knows someone that fits this description. The song is from the old “Captain Kangaroo Show,” sung by the villain on the Tom Terrific cartoons.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people like that in the world, and it seems a lot of them have their own reality show. Sometimes I catch myself watching these shows, and realize that my mouth is hanging open, because I can’t quite believe what I’m seeing.
As a reporter, I deal with a lot of people. Most of them are nice, some not so nice. Some are very helpful and want to talk to a reporter, some just ignore our calls.
But the worst are the people who call and yell and threaten me. I’m not sure what they are thinking. Do they believe that if they are as obnoxious and mean as possible that I will cave in and do what they want? It seems that way sometimes.
I have gotten e-mails that accuse me of having no community pride, of not liking certain towns or areas of the county, and some that have told me that I have no right to be in this business.
At first, these people hurt my feelings. Then I got tough. Now if someone is mean and nasty, they usually aren’t going to get anywhere with me, or with any reporter.
My job demands that I deal with everyone, mean or nice. And I do. But believe me, if you are nice, you are going to go a lot of further, not just with me, but in this world. No Crabby Appletons here, please.