NEIGHBORLY

My name is Margaret Jo Stinson, and I’d like to share my own perspective on this sort of thing.

- PAUL RUDNICK

Mrs. Burgus sued Rush, Dr. Braun and her insurance company over claims that he and Dr. Sachs had implanted false memories in her head. They settled out of court in 1997 for $10.6 million.

"I began to add a few things up and realized there was no way I could come from a little town in Iowa, be eating 2,000 people a year, and nobody said anything about it," Mrs. Burgus told the Chicago Tribune in 1997.

-The Times.

I live in Birchberry, Nebraska, population two hundred and thirty-eight, and my neighbor of more than fifteen years is Teresa Krell, who is sweet as a bug. Every morning, on my way to work at my boutique, Stinson’s Yarnables, Crochet Caddies & More, I wave to Teresa, who just yesterday was sitting on her porch in her housecoat and slippers, picking her teeth with what appeared to be a human femur.

I have no interest in cannibal-shaming anyone, and, again, Teresa couldn’t be more friendly. On Halloween, she always hands out gift bags stuffed with treats, including what she calls “cinnamon pinkies.” Last Christmas, we worked side by side at our church bake sale, with me contributing my signature whole-grain walnut-chive biscuits, and Teresa generously donating more than fifty cupcakes, frosted with buttercream and decorated with sprinkles, love, and molars.