He Wouldn’t Go Extra Mile

There was a former miler named John Lawson in the Jan. 20 letters. He spoke of my being penurious. Alongside that comment, my late wife, Shirley, once in a while would ask how much I was paying a miler.

Then she’d ask if I needed him, and for that amount. She said: “You could have bought me a mink jacket for that.” I didn’t bother trying to explain why I did it. If I had done so, it wouldn’t have worked.

AL FRANKEN

El Segundo