Great news for humor lovers in Salem! We now have a local version of Silverton's Silvertongue Apple-Peal. Carole Smith has fashioned Downtown Cherry Pits -- Exclusive to the Slutsman Journal as our town's satirical newsletter.
After Carole told me that some copies were available at Lullu's (357 Court Street), I stopped by yesterday and scored the debut issue. It's more fun to read on paper, but here's a PDF file for general online consumption.
Download Downtown Cherry Pits Dec. 2018 newsletter
The newsletter also can be read in bite-size bits via the posts on the Downtown Cherry Pits Facebook page. Be sure to give that page a "Like" so you keep in touch with the newsletter, which hopefully will live long and prosper.
Like I said in my post about the Silvertongue satire, humor is deeply subversive, being one of the best ways to get under the skin of the Powers That Be.
Aside from being a way to express her sense of humor, Carole Smith is using Downtown Cherry Pits to take some shots at programs and policies that deserve to be filled full of holes. Here's a few screenshot examples:
I think Downtown Cherry Pits is off to a great start. I'm looking forward to additional issues. Salem needs this sort of biting satirical humor, since it is a good way to look at life less seriously, while also taking jabs at what needs some poking.
A few people have criticized this blog for not living up to its name. Meaning, I haven't been snarky enough. Downtown Cherry Pits helps fill the snarky void in Salem's soul, for which I'm grateful. And Carole Smith's newsletter has impelled me to resolve to try to put more humor in my own writing.
Lastly, I've got to give Carole a shout-out for outdoing the Silvertongue Apple-Peal on the financial front. Gus Frederick has been selling his Silverton newsletter for $1 at a downtown store. But Carole told me that the people who pick up the first 30 copies of Downtown Cherry Pits will be given $1.
Apparently mine is waiting for me.
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