Now she was mad. "I"ll have you know, Mr. Ebbert, that
I do read your letters. And for your information, the reason
I don"t print them in our paper is because they are filled with
hatred, bigotry, and racism. And while those may be your
opinions, they are hurtful and mean-spirited and bring
absolutely no good to this community. So unless you can
think of something else to write about, you will never see a
single word of yours printed in this paper!"
"Fine!" He turned on his heel. "I"ve come up with
another way to get the word Out before this whole town is
crawling with a bunch of undesirables! If we don"t protect
the motherland, who will? Certainly not bleeding heart lib-
erals like yourself! You think you"re going to change this
town, Ms. Carpenter-well, you"re in for a big surprise.
There are more of us than you think. We were here long
before you came, and we"ll still be here after you leave!"
"For your information, Mr. Ebbert, Pine Mountain is my
home, and I have no intention of leaving, thank you very
much! And as this is my home, and I am an American, I will
continue to stand up for the rights of all Americans-for no
matter what our religion or skin color is, we are all Ameri-
cans-and that"s what this country is all about. If you don"t
believe me, maybe you"d better leave. Go take a look around
your "motherland," as you put it, and you"ll quickly discover
that our country is made up of many people from all kinds
of ethnic backgrounds."
After this little speech, Abigail, Scott, and even Clyde,
who had just slipped into the reception area, burst into
hearty applause and cheers.
"Speaking of leaving," said Clyde as he stepped up to Mr.
Ebbert and opened the front door, "don"t let us keep you.
94Melody Carlson
And don"t bother sending any more of your hate mail here
again. It"s just a waste of good paper and ink."
"A lot like your liberal rag of a newspaper!" he growled
as he stomped out the door. "I wouldn"t even use it to line
the bottom of a birdcage!"
Clyde slammed the door behind him, then said, "I"d say
that"s good riddance to bad rubbish!"
"Man," said Scott, turning to Maggie. "You"re like a
magnet for trouble, aren"t you?"
She held her hands up helplessly. "I guess so. Honestly, I
don"t know why I keep attracting these troublemakers."
"It"s because you stand up for what"s right," said Abigail
"and there"s nothing wrong with that either."
"Thanks for stepping in, Clyde," said Maggie. "And
thanks to you guys for standing behind me like that. It meant
a lot."
"That guy"s a total jerk." Scott started to head back to his
office and then paused. "And I don"t believe a word of his