Those of us who write stories for entrepreneurs who buy ink by the barrel know we can make most of the readers happy most of the time, but not all of them happy all of the time.

Sooner or later, a coach or a parent or an athlete will be ticked enough to register a complaint, usually by e-mail but often by phone and by letter, too. We expect to hear from people who disagree with what we write. It goes with the territory.

Sometimes, though, we’ll receive a gripe from out of left field a blast we never in our wildest dreams expected. For example, not too long ago I was flabbergasted after reading a neatly typed letter I received from Mark Dale-Thompson.

Who is Mark Dale-Thompson? He is the portable sanitation coordinator for Anderson Rentals, a Lawrence firm that rents everything from wedding lattices to, yes, portable sanitation units aka Johnny-on-the-Job, Porta-Potties, etc.

Why was Dale-Thompson peeved? Well, I wrote a piece not too long ago about the poor fan amenities at Free State High’s baseball diamond, noting the meager temporary bleachers and the lack of a concession stand/rest room area. A photo of side-by-side porta-pot er, portable sanitation units ran with the story.

Guess who supplied those units to Free State? Yep, it was Anderson Rentals.

“Was it absolutely necessary to draw that much negative attention to my portable chemical restrooms?” Dale-Thompson wrote. “I could not have scripted a more negative advertisement if I had tried.”

Obviously, Dale-Thompson does not believe, like they do in the entertainment business, for instance, that negative publicity, regardless of how rotten, is nevertheless publicity. I mean, some people might consider a picture of a pair of porta-pot er, portable sanitation units at the top of a newspaper page as positive because it calls attention to the product.

In the same vein, Dale-Thompson suggested that instead of toilet tissue he might supply his customers with copies of the Journal-World sports pages instead. That’s OK with me because his PSU users would at least have something to read while they’re doing their business.

Personally, I think PSUs are great. I can recall times of internal stress when I’d rather have come upon a PSU than find a $100 bill on the sidewalk. Free State’s baseball diamond isn’t the only Lawrence sports venue with them. I’ve seen PSUs at the Youth Sports Inc. fields, at KU’s softball facility and near the baseball diamonds at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

Those of us who have used Anderson Rentals’ PSUs didn’t realize, I’m sure, that in the words of Dale-Thompson, they are “the most stylish, comfortable portable restrooms available.”

I don’t doubt it. Quality means nothing, though, without maintenance. Even a Mercedes-Benz won’t run if it isn’t serviced regularly and an unserviced PSU casts a bad, uh, odor over the entire industry.

“I am aware of the poor reputation that plagues the portable sanitation industry,” Dale-Thompson wrote, adding that Anderson Rentals has dedicated 31 years to providing the best products and service available to meet the sanitation needs of its customers.

In closing, Dale-Thompson penned: “Next time, please consider the impact your stories have before you unleash such slander. Thank you.”

Actually, no one has ever penned a slanderous word. By definition, slander is the spoken word. Dale-Thompson meant libel, yet not even the most liberal judge would consider anything in my story about Free State’s diamond libelous.

Dale-Thompson made his point, however. I have gained new respect for the portable sanitation industry. No longer will I think of PSU as solely an acronym for Penn State University.

Now I’m wondering if someone from the plumbing industry will write and ask for equal space.