I've had some heated phone calls and email swaps with Kingston Mayor Jim Sottile over the years, but it's never come to this:

In Gallup, N.M., the mayor and the newspaper pubisher got into a fist fight. Both say the other started it. And if that's not enough to raise your eyebrows, consider the dispute apparently resulted from stories linking the mayor to something that allegedly occurred in 1948!

Now, I'm the peaceful type. On those rare occasions when I lose my temper, it comes in the manner of raising my voice.

The mayor? Many consider him too temperamental. More than verbally? Can't say for sure, although there was that well-documented (and videoed) incident a couple of years ago at a downtown nightspot.

Once thing's for certain: Sottile and I aren't likely to duke it out over something that might have happened 62 years ago. He wasn't yet born and I was just making my worldly debut.