Editor, the Times:

Like Mike Goold of Cultus Lake, I am never one to assert my opinion on others, but merely to state the truth without exaggeration or hyperbole.

Those who read my letters can accept the veracity of my comments or ignore them or, like Mr. Goold, try to dispute them - which would be rather difficult if not impossible ('Not exactly gushing about oil expansion', Times , Jan. 29).

I beg to differ with Mr. Goold's attribution that my letter was a "contradictory piece of inflammatory nonsense", as there was nothing contradictory, nor inflammatory, nor nonsensical. In fact, if he could show me any contradictory, inflammatory or nonsensical comments or facts, I would write a letter of apology to your newspaper.

May I suggest that he contact Abbotsford City Hall in his search for the "truth", and the city clerk's office can tell him how many people contacted them or the police over the 'nuisance' odour emanating from Kinder Morgan's facility on Sumas Mountain after the operational errors were made on Jan. 24, 2012.

I can assure you he won't have to take his socks off to complete the counting process.

As for Mr. Goold's ultra-left wing perspective on tar sands development, I can have a former colleague send him a membership with the NDP so he can help put Mr. Adrian Dix into power in May so B.C. can become a have-not province like Newfoundland and Labrador used to be.

I used to be an idealist, like all those young people. But I have learned how the world operates, and you and the group need to take a dose of reality instead of listening to old Bob Dylan songs.

G.E. MacDonell Abbotsford