In response to “Letter: Respecting the nation’s anthem” published on Oct. 19.
I wish to offer my apology to Sonya West, who found my blog/column about scrapping “The Star Spangled Banner” and replacing it with “America The Beautiful” upsetting and unpatriotic. Mrs. West, I had a relative who died in World War II and if you read my July 4 columns in this paper, you might find we are both patriots and both love our country. With a few exceptions, my columns are supposed to be humorous; in this instance, my intention was to poke fun at issues which are currently dividing our people. I clearly missed the mark in your case and regret offending you in any way.
Burt Ross