READERS who submitted offerings for another round of this column's occasional Gripes & Grins feature are probably wondering what happened to them.

Fear not! Starting next Sunday, I'll offer several columns from readers on the things in life that drive them nuts or make them smile.

A succession of other column topics has delayed this round of reader submissions. But that's now out of the way, and it will be time to to jump right in for Gripes & Grins.

For those not familiar, this is a column feature that gives readers the chance to get things off their chest or single out something that makes life worth living.

Gripes from readers, which tend to outnumber Grins, usually focus on their pet peeves about life, their community or society in general.

Grins, which readers pushed for to balance out Gripes, often focus on nice things people do for each other, or things that make sense but have never been done before.

Because reader submissions are a little light on Grins--a few dozen compared with over 100 different Gripes--I'm going to give readers until Wednesday at noon to submit fresh Gripes or Grins.

They don't have to be major-league items, in either category.

The best submissions are ones that detail little slices of life that are either maddening or reassuring, be they Gripe or Grin.

Those with new Gripes or Grins can e-mail them to me at rhedelt@freelancestar.com, fax them to 373-8455 or mail them to me at the newspaper at 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.

One thing I ask: Please include your full name, the place where you live (Stafford, Bowling Green, Montross, etc.) and a daytime phone number where you can be reached in case there are questions about the submission.

To get you into the spirit of Gripes & Grins, I'll include one or two of my own.

My gripe has to do with the junk they have at the bottom of the TV screen on everything you watch these days. If it isn't news programs with things flashing, words crawling and headlines blazing, it's show logos or promotions for upcoming entertainment programs.