Snarky

Christopher L. Crosby's sarcastic letter to the editor responding to the letter chronicled in my post "Another Rev" (5/13) ended, "I'm sure if [his city] has a problem on such a scale such as Katrina wrought, letter writer Don will be ready for it, not wanting any assistance. So, Uncle Sam, there's one less person you need to keep safe."

In my comeback I said, "An American should be self-reliant and turn to the government as infrequently as possible. [Crosby] pointed out that I was such a person, and I wear that reputation with pride.

"All I ask of my government is that it maintain an army to protect me from foreign enemies, police agencies to keep me safe from domestic criminals, firefighters, and people to maintain the infrastructure. I have always assumed the rest of my needs were my responsibility."