It's on the FCAT

Arcadia's intrepid newspaper editor, Laura Schmid, churns out her weekly good-news only column this morning, offering readers a review of re-hashed material that ran in her pages four times this week. Her column offers, as she styles it, a "sneak peak" at another warmed-over item, upcoming showings of a charming local movie about Florida cowboys.

Dear Editor: If something has already appeared several times in the newspaper and multiple times around town, you cannot promise readers a sneak peek. And, please learn the difference between a furtive glance and a furtive mountain top. It's on the FCAT.

The same editor attended a play and alerted her readers to the sad situation that she, the college graduate, with a master's degree in a liberal arts discipline, was "not sure what to expect" at the one-act showcase. The tyro reviewer calls the show "lighthearted" in quotes -- even though she's not quoting anyone. Her major critical judgment: the actors "concluded after one-and-a-half hours, just the right amount of time." Readers are happy the play did not strain Schmid's attention span.