Readers send the funniest mail

Sometimes, the best-laid plans of men and columnists fall apart due to circumstances beyond their control.

Such was the case for me this week. I had a column idea percolating, but the timing wasn't right, and it's going to be delayed for a while.

In such cases, I have found, one can either laugh or cry. I choose to laugh. And this time, I've decided to let you laugh with me.

Every now and then, I get an e-mail from a reader that doesn't seem to fit in with a regular column but makes me laugh. I always feel bad keeping my chuckles to myself, so here are a couple of those snickers for you to enjoy, as well.

The first came in response to a recent column on estate planning. A reader named David said his e-mail didn't have anything to do with money, but says a lot about death and family relationships.

"I just returned from Cornwall (U.K.), where I did family-history research, which included photographing a few hundred family gravestones," David wrote. "I found the stones of a cousin and his wife who died within a couple of days of each other and were both buried at the same time in the Warleggan cemetery.

"The gravestones are identical size, shape, quality, style and lettering (just the name and date differing). What is curious is that they are at diagonally opposite ends of the cemetery (northeast corner and southwest corner), as far apart as they could possibly be. On each stone is the same epitaph: 'Peace, perfect peace.' "

Sounds like there's more to that family story, David, but I doubt it's a tale that's been passed down from generation to generation!

The next funny e-mail came from Susan. She works for a customer feedback company that reports back to the operations teams for various businesses. The company takes about 70,000 surveys a day, she wrote, and that has drawn some humorous responses. Her examples:

 "You've switched the flight number, you've switched the time of departure, and you've switched the aircraft. (Seats) 29a and b are good for legless gnomes who are about 9 inches tall."

 "The guy who was helping me was very sweaty. He was rubbing his forehead and then making the drinks. I would like to not see it happen again."

 "There were no clams in my clam chowder."