Letters to the Editor

A Train By Any Other Name
To the Editor:
Regarding Kenneth Neill’s article in the January 1st issue, I wanted to tell you what I know about how The Dixie Flyer came to have that name.
The paper was edited by a woman named Sarah [Van Horn] and I wrote several pieces for it, including an interview with Vester Presley in the gatehouse at Graceland.
When Sarah was looking for a name, she asked for suggestions and I told her about trains’ names that I remembered from my childhood – the Pan American, the Southwind, and the Dixie Flyer. She liked the last one and that is how she named the paper.
Howell N. Pearre
Memphis

Stand Up To The Klan
To the Editor:
Kudos to Phil Campbell on his recent Viewpoint “Calling All White People” [January 8th issue].
History has proven that people need to voice disapproval with the tenets of racial zealots. They gain strength from our silence, and if we ignore them, it appears we sanction them.
Margaret Hill
e-mail (Germantown)

No Ammunition For The Klan
To the Editor:
Viewpoints are like opinions; we all have them. While Phil Campbell’s recent Viewpoint “Calling All White People,” expresses his opinion, there are other viewpoints to consider.
First, having a dialogue doesn’t revolve around agreement. In fact, more often than not it’s about different perceptions. We can and do have dialogue without agreement. While we should note that the KKK is coming to Memphis from Indiana, it should be of more importance to note that it is coming on the 30th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. You don’t need to be a PR specialist to understand that the eyes of the world will be focused on Memphis during this year. It is no surprise the Klan is coming here or why. They need and want publicity.
Local efforts at not engaging the Klan stem from a desire not to provide ammunition for their publicity, not from ignoring the problem. In fact, during this 30th year an overwhelming number of activities will focus on remembering Dr. King’s legacy. I for one prefer to be for something, not against something. I would encourage all Memphians to participate in activities honoring Dr. King and his memory, not simply against another hate group looking for publicity.
Let the memory of Memphis be that we embrace the spirit of Dr. King and move forward together. Unfortunately, mold grows back even when you wipe it off.
Jim Foreman
Executive Director,
The National Conference
Memphis

Down The Tubes
To the Editor:
The Memphis Flyer sums up Mayor Herenton’s comments on the city’s crime problem: “The mayor promised to protect a forthcoming local march by members of the Ku Klux Klan and suggested a raise in the pay of Memphis police officers disproportionate to that for other city employees.”
What a joke! The firefighter’s union would never tolerate a disproportionate raise (a lesson Mayor Herenton learned before), and besides, how would a mere 5 percent raise make up for a 200-officer shortfall? And if we did manage, by some miracle, to fund more police officers, who’s going to train them? Our local police academy? Not a chance! They’re already overburdened. The mayor hasn’t made any suggestions that might possibly arrest the current upward trend in violent or other types of crime in Memphis.
You can’t even drive anywhere in Memphis in your car without fearing for your life, due to a complete lack of traffic enforcement. The police are only letting traffic-laws enforcement wane because they have higher priorities to attend to in the form of violent crimes and thefts. When is the last time you saw someone run a red light? How much faster than the speed limit do you think the average car driving down Poplar is going? I’d say 10 miles an hour, at least. If Mayor Herenton wants to put some money where his mouth is, then why don’t we have automatic traffic enforcement equipment at intersections, as other major cities have? The equipment would pay for itself in no time.
My wife is terrified to go out at night, fearing being kidnapped or worse. She doesn’t sleep well when I’m out of town, despite the security doors and alarm system. All we hear about on the local news and paper is crime, most often random acts against innocent persons. As far as we’re concerned, crime is the number-one problem facing Memphis. And we’re not the only ones! Do you think everyone moving out east is moving there because they like the longer drive? The tax base is fleeing Memphis because the city is going down the tubes, and the city’s answer is to annex them on the run!
Every other major city seems to be getting a grip on their crime problems (New York, for example). Why can’t we? The answer is, we have a serious leadership problem, starting with the mayor’s office.
Jeff Jeffords
e-mail (Memphis)

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.

		Editor’s Note One of the questions people often ask me when they find out where I work is: What is Tim Sampson really like? That’s not an easy question. Tim is not his “We Recommend” persona – not completely, anyway. There are, of course, countless similarities. Tim smokes, he’s funny, he has a great cat. Evidently the sleepwalking tales are real as well. But there is more to Tim than just the funny parts. The word I would use to describe him is empathetic. When I first started writing for this publication, Tim was my editor. His patience and sensitivity contributed to my decision to follow this line of work. Once I moved into the building, first as managing editor and then editor, Tim was a great source of strength for me. He was the one person here who could understand what it was like to ride this train week after week. Sometimes when I would see Tim in the hall, we would exchange a silent look, a roll of the eyes. He knew. I knew he knew. And when things grew really bad, I could always talk to Tim. He understood. Tim Sampson is much more than a comic. During the early days at the Flyer, when the entire editorial staff could fit into a booth at Shoney’s, Tim wrote prolifically. He even joined the circus once in order to get a cover story. His hard work and adventuresome spirit set the tone for this publication in its earliest, crucial days. He provided the spunk and the drive when the paper was finding its feet. At Memphis magazine, and here at the Flyer, Tim wrote important, ground-breaking stories. And, week after week, he delivered hilarious accounts from our weird world in his popular “We Recommend” column. Last week we said good-bye to Tim, throwing him a big surprise party at his favorite bar, Old Zinnie’s. The good news: Tim will continue to write “We Recommend.” The bad news: I’ve lost a great source of sympathy. n – Dennis Freeland