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Boy, did Washington City Paper get it wrong with its story about Allen Berger and his heroic collection of secondhand parts (“A Fine Mess,” 12/12). Reporter Jake Tapper makes Berger out to be some kind of out-to-lunch backwoods oaf because he keeps a ready inventory of used goods on hand.
Well, I met Berger at a holiday cookie-exchange party recently, and not only does he make a mean ginger snap, but he’s definitely in his right mind.
I suggest that Tapper journey to a local landfill to uncover a true blockbuster of a story: the enormous mounds of still-usable goods (refrigerators, stereos, 2-by-4s, shirts, shoes, and on and on) buried under piles of stinking Hefty bags everyday. (Perhaps he could even visit the site of his story this time.)
We should thank the Allen Bergers of our city for putting our “junk” to good use a second time around. I think he’s partial to sugar cookies.
Mount Pleasant
via the Internet