Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

A week ago I made a wager and lost. I bet an acquaintance that Mitt Romney would win the election. It reminded me of a story I read a long time ago.

A woman, waiting in the hallway, approached Benjamin Franklin as he emerged from a meeting of the cabinet. She inquired, “Well, what do I have sir?” He replied, “Madam, you have a Republic, if you can hold onto it.”

Sadly, as a World War II veteran, I feel that I lost something much more valuable than a mere bet!

Norman S. Reed, Oak Bluffs