What Ails Pittsburgh?

Borrowing Letters to the Editor and critiquing them for utter cluelessness is the usual territory of another Pittsburgh blogger, but this morning, I can't resist. From the Post-Gazette comes this gem of a letter that captures something priceless about a culture that expects free lunches at every turn. For the want of a quarter, a kingdom was lost! The text:

After living in the North Side for 25 years, I had to move to the suburbs a few years ago, and one of the things I miss most is the Friday Citiparks Farmers Market in West Park. I had been a faithful customer since it started and made the effort to go last week to stock up on fresh produce.

Imagine my dismay to find a $20 parking ticket on my car on Cedar Avenue after less than a half-hour of shopping (and spending over $30 with various farmers)! I will have to pay the ticket because I didn't put a quarter in the meter, but it seems mean-spirited and shortsighted to patrol that section of parking so vigilantly during the farmers market hours of 3 to 7 on summer Fridays.

There are lots of other places to shop where parking is free, so that's where I'll go from now on; the city will get the parking fine but lose yet another city lover.

And while she's dreaming, she'd like a pony.