Dear Don:

I LIKE DON WAGNER, but every time I see him, I think: people really annoy this guy. That’s not necessarily bad. And there’s lots to be annoyed with. But being the Annoyed Guy just doesn’t work in politics. That’s obvious.

It’s like Britney Spears. You keep thinking, “Goddamit, why don’t her friends just tell her?” Maybe she's got no friends.

OK, I’ll be a friend. Don, don’t be so damned annoyed all the time.

Which reminds me of the time when I was a kid and I applied for a job at Disneyland. As I recall, I was taken to some subterranean office complex. Eventually, I sat across somebody’s desk. She asked me the usual questions.

Pretty soon, she stopped, she leaned forward. She asked: “Chunk, do you like people?”

I must’ve said the wrong thing: "No" or "Sorta." Within seconds, the interview was over.

I think I was about 40 when I finally realized that the correct answer is “yes.”

—No, I mean that, as it turns out, I really do like people.

Even Don.

OK, I’ll be a friend one more time. Don, have a little faith in people. There are a few exceptions, but faculty are not really evil or lazy or duplicitous. Generally, they’re nice and earnest and hard-working.

They want to work with you Don. Just have a little faith, OK?