As Thane and Patricia Lecy-Davis so kindly reminded me the other day, it is a very fine line I walk when it comes to writing this column.  Many a conversation has been had with friends and editors over what message these 400 weekly words are sending out to the general public.  Some people get it.  The people that "get it" are most likely people that know my demented personality, or have a like-minded (read: warped) sense of humor - and simply understand the jokes.

Other times, there are the people who happen to be in town from Aberdeen, stuck at some coffee shop waiting for their '82 Datsun to have its muffler replaced at the Shell Station across the street.  In boredom, he picks up a used Weekly Volcano that someone has left behind on his table and begins skimming through it.  It's a publication, and resembles something of a trustworthy source of information - so why not?  What this poor man doesn't know is that deep inside the bowels of all Weekly Volcano writers lies a slightly twisted soul - most likely writing columns in a taco-induced food coma. 

Last week I crossed the aforementioned "line" the Davis duo recently reminded me of.

I don't know who it was from the corporate offices of Duke's Chowder House that read my column last week - but I whole-heartedly apologize if any words offended any employee of Duke's.  I have a feeling that if this person knew beforehand of my unstable mentality, things would've come across much different. 

Duke's bartender Kelby McCall is someone I consider a friend.  We pick on each other, tease one another, and still somehow like each other in the end.  We get along so well because we are similar in the fact we both share the same, dysfunctional sense of humor.  Hence her statements in last week's edition of Trouble with DeRosa. There is obviously a strong, positive camaraderie among the staff of Duke's Chowder House on Ruston Way.  This is clear to anyone who patronizes the bar, and to any regular (and I know there are plenty) guests who stop in to visit for the very same reason I do: The personalities.  Kelby made those statements last week with nothing but a teasing love for her co-worker's personalities, and the slight thought it might be fun to have them see their name in print.  Neither of us had any malicious intentions. And I sincerely hope this week's 400 words will help clear things up. 

[Duke's Chowder House, 3327 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253.752.5444]