Dear Editor, I might owe the universe an apology. Recently I participated in Comedy Night at a local NN brewery. I’m a total amateur, never did standup comedy before, was scared to do it but not overwhelmed with stage fright, had only an afternoon to prepare, and with a headful of doubts and a heartful of hopes (my hopes being possibly good at this and maybe make money doing it some day) I just said the hell with it and did it. I have a feeling now that doing comedy might be dangerous.

If I could explain something… it was all make believe. Just odd thoughts turned into little stories that to me are funny. For instance, I never bit into a NYC food cart ‘Real Jamaican Beef Patty’ and found a dreadlock. I never even ever bought one of them. It’s make believe.

Anywayz, I told a joke that wasn’t about, but included mention of missing Mexican children. I have nothing against Mexican children. In fact, and I believe we can all agree the little Mexican boy who sold Humphrey Bogart the winning lottery ticket in ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ was probably the cutest kid in history.

So, my apology, screw it if you can’t take a joke. Let’s see you with nothing, no guitar, no props, get on stage with nothing but your ba**s, and entertain total strangers for half an hour.

Is comedy dead? Was it an art form? Does it belong in the landfill with 90% of the paintings and sculptures of the 1960s? Comedy is dead but Rap music is healthy?

We are all in this together. Some things in life are serious. Comedy isn’t serious. Be well. -Nelson Macleod, Heathsville Dear Editor, There is a growing push in Richmond to alter Virginia’s Constitution, so politicians can redraw congressional districts for short term political advantage. That is not what redistricting is supposed to be, and Virginians should reject it.

Redistricting exists to equalize representation, not to sideline entire groups of voters. Yet the proposals being floated today would marginalize two major blocs — Republicans and Independents — by carving districts designed to predetermine outcomes rather than let voters choose their representatives. That is the very definition of gerrymandering, and it has no place in a Commonwealth that prides itself on fairness.

Virginians are fully capable of deciding who should represent them during normal general election cycles. We don’t need engineered districts to “correct” the choices of voters. We need competitive elections where every citizen’s vote carries equal weight.

And what happens in Texas or California should have no bearing on what we do here. Other states may choose to bend their rules, but that does not give Virginia permission to weaken its own constitutional safeguards. Our responsibility is to uphold democratic principles, not imitate the worst behavior elsewhere.

If we start rewriting the Constitution every time someone dislikes an election result, we undermine the very foundation of representative government. The Commonwealth deserves better than reactionary politics disguised as reform.

Respectfully, -John Bangs, Heathsville