Unpublished Letter to the Daily Clintonian, Date Unknown

Dear Editor:

Walt Whitman, the poet, once said: "I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained." Unfortunately, some citizens in Clinton, Indiana do not feel the same. The story in June 23rd’s Daily Clintonian ("Deer wanders into city, and has to be destroyed by police") is appalling. Was the deer out to kidnap children? Was the deer out to splash mud over governmental officials? I think not.

I eat meat and am not a PETA screamer. I do, however, believe that someone should have called a moment of spiritual silence when supposedly the deer was seen outside of the baseball diamonds at Sportland Park during a game (at least the deer was not in the grandstands knocking over toddlers to retrieve a foul ball).

Why the DNR officers were "out of the area," or "out in left field" remains a mystery, but if people were so upset with the deer’s existence, the police should have tranquillized and carried it back into the woods, where, of course, eventually someone else would have shot it.

Frankly, I’ve seen worse things in Clinton, Indiana. A few deer might make the city a better place. In his poem "Annual Report," James Tate best sums it up: "And there were five Deer Complaints (Well pardon us for existing.)."

Sincerely,

Doug Martin
Universal, Indiana