One thing I’ve learned about the readers of the South Jetty over the years is that they are resourceful, informative, empathetic and not without opinions.

There is a clear common thread, however.

South Jetty readers are animal lovers.

The proof has been in the responses I’ve gotten when I’ve written about: losing Bo, our first Labrador retriever who, at the time, was the best known and best loved member of our staff; the death of my cat that went to college with me, stood by me when I got married, had a baby and moved with me from San Marcos to Austin to Sinton to Refugio and finally Port Aransas; our 29-cent cat that ultimately had a two-a-day insulin shot habit and was the only cat in Port Aransas to receive mail; bidding farewell to Max the dachshund, the family pet of dear friends who was a legend in his own mind and time; and just last January, saying goodbye to Uno, our 15-year-old lab.

Response was over the top to our feature about Port Aransas shop cats, written by South Jetty office cat Trixie Trout with help from reporter Dan Parker. Cat lovers enjoyed it, but dog lovers wanted equal time. They got it.

Another common thread is food.

My failure at making flan for Murray resulted in more than one recipe, and one fellow even sent me the real secret to perfect flan: A box of flan mix!

I won’t live long enough to try the recipes I got for stuffed cabbage without creamofmushroomsoup. One woman even sent me a box of soup mix I was not familiar with that she swore was the magic ingredient – and it was!

Our readers also are avid gardeners who sympathized with my plight last spring as I fought off insects in my herb garden. I got advice and magic potions, all of which helped.

Those who don’t write or call, stop me in the grocery store to commiserate, agree, disagree, complain or compliment. My longest trip to the grocery store clocked in at two hours.

I’ve gotten mean letters, love letters and everything in between.

Bill Lehmann, however, might have topped them all.

A few days after a tongue-in-cheek column I wrote about flossing (a practice I learned, from a fellow publisher’s column, is a lifesaver), I received a letter – no – an envelope with Bill’s return address on it.

In the envelope were five flossing sticks taped neatly together. No note. Nothing. Just the flossing sticks.

I reported him to the authorities. Make that authority: His daughter, my peer, Jody Nelson, in Virginia.

Didn’t do any good. He’s still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

And then came the blotting brushes from Al Lis. Not only did he bring some to me, he brought enough for the entire staff.

I’m thinking this column is better than Internet: If I’ve got a problem, readers have a solution. If I’ve got a question, readers have an answer. But better than the Internet, readers feel my pain, share my joy and my sorrow.

You guys rock!

Mary Henkel Judson is editor and copublisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at southjetty@centurytel.net, (361) 749-5131 or P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373.