A hypothetical scenario: Wouldn't it be a major embarrassment to the City of Baltimore if former Mayor Sheila Dixon bought back her former possessions on eBay (under a pseudonym)? Wouldn't Leno and Letterman have a field day with that one?

Stranger things have occurred. Wouldn't it just be more logical and transparent to hold some kind of lottery for the less fortunate to become the owners of Ms. Dixon's former belongings? Where will the money end up going through the eBay process? Will there be a paper trail to confirm that the revenue from these items is going to go to a benevolent cause? Will the revenue get caught up in the vortex of lost, unaccountable, or unexplained items on the ledger?

I'm just thinking what a nationwide debacle would be stirred up if my hypothesis came to fruition. Just give the items to a family in "The City That Needs." Like the late Charlie Eckman used to say, "It's a simple ball game."

Patrick R. Lynch, Baltimore