My Dad would look at me and say, “All that proves is that paper won’t refuse ink.”

It’s true. You can’t always believe what you read, even when it’s put out there as undisputed fact. I’m supposing that the only way to know for sure about penguins is to take a trip to Antarctica.

A few years back, some readers of “Inside Sanpete” let me know that I was up in the night when I referred to the Pro Bowl football game as being a game played after the Super Bowl. When I wrote that, it was a case of “paper not refusing ink.” I was wrong. (Ouch! That sentence hurt!)

In years gone by (where my brain apparently often resides), the Pro Bowl was usually held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010 it has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl. Players on the teams competing in the Super Bowl don’t play in the Pro Bowl.

I’ve thought at times that The Pyramid should hire a fact checker for me. By doing that, you, the reading public, would be protected from untruth. There has been more than one time that I’ve made an error in this column. There are usually people who let me know about them. There have been other times when I thought I made an error, but I was mistaken.

There was one time that The Pyramid “higher ups” thought I’d made an error, but then I was vindicated. I think it may have been after that episode that the paper decided to quit checking up on me.

I guess it used to be quite common for big newspapers to have entry level employees doing fact checking. But nowadays, I gather, reporters are expected to do their own research and fact checking (you might want to check the facts on this).

But really, as I think about it, facts are usually pretty irrelevant in this column. I’ve heard it said, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up.” Sometimes this column would be like some version of that old metaphor about sausage. “If it comes out kinda all right, you really don’t want to know how it’s made.”

Getting our information and news requires us to believe in our sources of that information and news. Some sources have more credibility than others. Some seemingly unbelievable things are true. Some normal, routine sounding things are untrue.

For example which of these statements would you believe is true? 1) I hit a deer on Highway 89. 2) My brother hit a deer on Main Street in Manti. 3) My son hit a deer on State Street in Orem.

For this question, I am your personal source for the answer. You’ll have to determine my credibility. I’m here to tell you that all three answers are factual.

I remember when Jay Leno used this concept. He asked his audience if the following menu was a presidential meal or a death row inmate’s last meal: Buffalo wings, bratwurst, cheeseburgers, deep-dish pizza, kielbasa, potato salad, twice-baked potatoes and ice cream.

The audience responded louder, by far, indicating they believed it was a “last meal.” The fact was that it was President Obama’s Super Bowl Sunday meal menu. Jay made some comment like, “So much for Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign.”

You can tell that I’ve been thinking about football lately. I have mixed feelings on the season. There are pros and cons. Ultimately, I’m happy to have the high schools playing in Utah.

But, I’m wondering what our paid-for season tickets at BYU are going to get us this year. To be fair, they’ve offered to refund the money or to have it applied to next year. But I’m waiting to see what “rabbits can be pulled out the hat” to create a season. All bets are off with the other colleges in the state for a regular season.

Back to the topic — rest assured that when it comes to facts, “Inside Sanpete” will never lead you too far astray — on purpose, unless it’s sarcastically, or unless it seems like a good idea at the time. I thank all my “fact checker” readers out there. It’s nice to know occasionally that there are, in fact, readers.

I received a letter from a reader recently. It was in regards to the column earlier this month where I suggested that a portion of the federal land in Sanpete be made into a national park. The reader opposed the national park idea on the grounds that Sanpete should be kept a secret from the rest of the world. Parts of Utah have been ruined by too many people, it was represented.

I guess I was too subtle with my attempt at humor, sarcasm, hyperbole and satire. I guess I wasn’t ridiculous enough. The fact is I agree with the reader. I agree to the point that I wrote a column some years back suggesting that Sanpete should secede from the United States and become its own closed-off country.

Both the national park idea and the secession plan have very little (zero) chance of happening. But both ideas, however poorly presented, were intended to create a fantasy thought, and if not a chuckle, perhaps a smile. And that’s a fact! — — Merrill