Denver's Legacy
To The Editor:
Debbie Gilbert's article [October 23rd issue] about the impact of John Denver and his support of environmental causes was very powerful and touching. That part of John was and still is very important. One of the best things we can do to cherish his memory is to support some of the causes that he did.
The
only real disagreement that I have with the article is my belief that John
Denver had a greater impact on music and how it affected people than most
people really want to give him credit for.
He showed all of us how much the world, the environment, the people we cared for and loved, should mean to us and how fragile it all was. He wrote and sang songs of great love, unlimited hope, of full compassion and of the angst of pain. He taught us lessons about the beauty of life. He taught us how we should care for one another and not to be afraid to show it and to share it.
I've come to discover over the years how uncommon that really is and how people are often incapable of dealing with it. It is not surprising to me that as the years of John's career progressed and people became more cynical, selfish, self-centered, and fearful, his popularity waned and he was no longer the big-selling, popular recording artist that he once was. But to those of us, like me, who were in tune with what he sang about, we knew what we needed to do to live by the words of John's songs and the causes that he supported.
I realize that John had his own faults and failings, for he was as human as the rest of us. Despite the personal difficulties that he had in his life, he still didn't let it get him down. He shared his hurt and pain in many of his songs and by doing so, he showed us that we could still be okay in spite of it all.
He will no longer be able to teach us new things like he always has. However, he leaves a great legacy and we should all be grateful for that. He is now in the hands of God and may his soul soar throughout the heavens and the stars
Bert Silverstein
e-mail (Cordova)
To the Editor:
Many thanks to Debbie Gilbert for her superb piece, "Rocky Mountain Guy," in which she recounts that John Denver wrote in 1994: "If I said I didn't yearn for immortality, I would be lying."
But he is immortal! William Faulkner, upon receiving the Nobel Prize, sounded this article of faith:
" I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure. I refuse to accept this. I belive that man will not simply endure: He will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance."
Arthur Prince
Memphis
The Politics of Teaching
To the Editor:
I really appreciated your article on teacher burnout [October 23rd issue]. I am an elementary-education major at the U of M. I rarely hear about the politics involved in the public school system in my classes. It seems that everything comes down to politics in education. Whether or not you have books, air conditioning, or money for field trips is a political question.
The
educational system is wearing everyone down -- teachers, students, parents,
and principals. It's not working. This is an issue we need to be addressing.
Whether or not the school system makes teaching look glamorous is not the
question. Ignoring the political forces involved in education will not solve
our problems. This doesn't give teachers and students the control they need.
The New American School Designs that many Memphis City Schools have adopted are supposed to have opened the dialogue between teachers and administrators, but if you ask many of these teachers if their voice is being taken seriously, their answer is usually "no." The administration will not let the teachers or students have control, and the teachers union doesn't take any action to better the situation.
We have to begin to admit that teaching is a political action and teachers are caught in the crossfire of reform and legislation. We begin by facing the fact that education is political; then we can start opening up dialogue for real change.
Jennifer Sauer
Memphis
Sports Drain
To the Editor:
I agree with the 50 excuses for not supporting sports in Memphis ["Sports," October 16th issue]. The writer, however, forgot the most important reason: Sports are a drain on a city.
The pro teams get tax exemptions, new facilities built at public expense or at least financed by the city, and its citizens' hard-earned dollars which then leave the community. They bring very little to the city -- at best a few seasonal minimum-wage jobs selling hot dogs; at worst traffic problems, debt from stadium projects, and a crowd of whiny millionaires. It becomes easy to not support sports in Memphis. As a former Houstonian, I was saddened to hear that the "greasers" were moving to Memphis. My friends and family in Houston were thrilled at getting rid of the drain on public funds. Please, everybody, refrain from criticizing us for seeing that the emperor has no clothes. I am proud of Memphians for not buying what the Oilers are selling.
Kevin Murphy
e-mail (Memphis)
Behind the Scenes
To the Editor:
I really enjoyed Ross Johnson's cover story on the Antenna Club and the beginnings of the punk movement in Memphis [October 16th issue]. Ross and I played on that stage many nights in the '80s. His article was accurate and factual. However, exception must be taken to the statement about Randy Chertow and Tommy Hull "pulling the music scene together." Give me a break! Milford Thompson and Bob Holmes did more to pull that scene together than a thousand Chertows or Hulls.
Chertow and Hull both came from affluent backgrounds in East Memphis, while Thompson and Holmes lived on the streets (or the Loft or the Palace). When the Modifiers played, it was the real thing. I know because I was with them for six months. I quit when they went to L.A. to recruit John Densmore.
As for Barri Bob, after his band the Byacozzes broke up in late 1985, he moved to Atlanta to try his luck there.
Once again, thanks to Ross for the great memories.
A.J. Adellman
Ellendale, TN
The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. Send mail to: Letters to the Editor, POB 687, Memphis, TN 38101. Or call Back Talk at 575-9405. Or send us e-mail at memflyer@aol.com. All responses must include name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters should be no longer than 250 words.
Two weeks ago while visiting my parents in Paris, Tennessee, I watched the Oilers play the Redskins at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The game was on the Fox channel in Nashville, where they receive all the Oilers' home games that are blacked out in Memphis.
It was an interesting experience. The camera angles were such that the stadium did not look half empty. The announcers did not harp on the attendance. And, more importantly, every time the network came back from a break they showed a Memphis scene -- the Memphis Belle, the Island Queen, Beale Street, Graceland, the statues in the downtown visitors' center. The entire broadcast was a Memphis tourism plug.
Of course, there is the other side. Here is a quote from Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon:
" the NFL ought to be ashamed of itself for letting the Oilers play in this sorry Liberty Bowl for two years. Nothing about coming here is an NFL experience. The field looked as if it had hosted a game overnight. One end zone bore a college team's nickname. One of the two scoreboards was downright cheesy, and the other was inadequate. The crowd of 31,042 (half of which were Redskins fans) was the largest of the season in a stadium that seats 62,000.
Maybe the Redskins took one look at the place and figured they were playing an exhibition game and didn't have to start the game as if something important was at stake.
Yeah, that's it. That's as good an excuse as any."
And while we're on your favorite topic, we refer you to page 22 where we have reprinted Nashville Scene editor Bruce Dobie's book review/Nashville NFL update. The book is Loser Takes All: Bud Adams, Bad Football & Big Business by Ed Fowler, a longtime sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle. Dobie's observations give some insight into how Nashville is reacting to the Oilers adventure. -- Dennis Freeland