Maybe you still want to tell off your ex. Maybe you still need to apologize to your (mother, brother, sister, fill-in-the-blank) for that thing you did way back when. Maybe what you've been wanting to get off your chest has something to do with a child, a pet, a friend, even a stranger. Whatever the unfinished business is, Jackie Hooper, a 24-year-old receptionist from Portland, Ore., may have come up with just the way to put it to rest. It's a blog (www.would havesaid.com) she's named, 'The Things You Would Have Said,' and it's made up of letters, a new one added every day, filled with humor, pathos, anger and regret. This letter, for example, is to a cat. Dear Cutie Pie, I'm so sorry I didn't go into the back of the animal hospital with the veterinarian and hold you while they put you to sleep. This one is to a former lover. Dear David, ... We were so young, and I was stupid. You came home on leave and helped me to move two states away, even though I was leaving you. ... Here's another letter to a former lover. Dear Jerkface, I've gotten over it; at least I think I have. It's taken a really long time and numerous failed relationships to understand what happened. I think you should know that I wish I had called the police. But the letters are not all so sad or so mad. Here's one from Luis, 10, to his little sister, Amanda. ... You're very special to me because of your kindness. Like yesterday when there were no Kit Kat candies left and you gave me your own. This one is from Hunter, 9. Dog, I'm sorry for blaming you for ripping the stool. I actually ripped it. Cat, I'm sorry for dressing you up. Dad, I'm sorry for breaking your pen. Love ... Hooper says she got the idea for the blog after actress Natasha Richardson died in a fluke skiing accident last spring. 'It really struck me how quickly and easily someone can lose their life and how important it is to say things before it's too late. It also made me wonder, what would people say if they had a second chance?' With those questions in mind, Hooper solicits letters from children in local schools and from adults in venues ranging from churches to jails to retirement homes. She's constantly searching for contributors who are of varying ages, backgrounds and perspectives, and she reaches out to strangers on Facebook and Twitter. Hooper's hope is that the letters will make a good book one day, and that the collection is cathartic for the writers and the readers, too. To guard against bogus letters, Hooper asks all contributors to sign a release form saying the sentiments expressed are real and not fiction. She also asks for full names, even though the signatures posted on the blog may be a first name only, initials or simply, 'anonymous.' Hooper says she did get one really elaborate, made-up story from a high school student, but because the student was under 18, the mom had to sign the release form. What the mom also wrote was, 'This isn't true.' Thus far, Hooper says, she's received many letters from people with unresolved dad issues. And from women apologizing to their children for a wide variety of reasons. Some letters defy category or description. To my loving husband, I love you but there are some small things I have never told you: I do like to be left alone when I'm in the bathroom. Vacuum-cleaning IS so boring, and I'd prefer that you do it. One day I'm cutting my hair short, no matter what you say. Love you anyway. KK ------ What do we most regret? According to Jackie Hooper, founder of the blog, 'The Things You Would Have Said,' here are the Top 5: 1. Being a bad father/mother 2. Being rude to friends during childhood 3. Failing to help or stop a person who committed suicide 4. Romantic relationships that turned out badly 5. Absent parents who failed in ways big and small. More information: www.wouldhavesaid.com XXX - End of Story3D 