Don’t Slash Your Wrists

I read with sadness Commercial Appeal editor Chris Peck’s
recent Sunday column lament that he considered slashing his wrists over
an accurate but incomplete story in a rival publication’s account of
his stewardship of the newspaper. The full story is far worse.

For 11 years of award-winning work at the CA as the editorial
cartoonist, I often acted as its public ambassador-at-large. I always
spoke proudly of the role the CA plays in this community. I
talked to dozens of civic groups, gave hundreds of school
presentations, and mentored many young artists. Then, one day a month
ago, I was summoned to the personnel department. I sat next to Peck as
I was told to relinquish my ID card and office keys and ordered out of
the building within the hour.

That afternoon, I went home to inform my wife and three young sons
of my layoff. It was a crushing experience to explain it to them, and
they wept. So did I. After more than 25 years in a specialized career,
I have yet to be offered any opportunities to display my talents for
employment. Foreclosure on my home looms on the horizon, and my weekly
unemployment check barely covers the groceries, let alone any insurance
premiums for my family. I can forget the dream of sending my children
to college. An ambiguous offer of freelance work was offered by Peck,
as if I could support a family on it.

In short, I have joined the many former employees of The
Commercial Appeal in an agony of nightmares and despair. Yet
strangely, like most of them, I still love the newspaper and I pray
with all my heart that it survives. I guess old habits die hard.

If anyone should consider slashing their wrists, it is those of us
he has thrown to the wolves. But we will endure and survive somehow. I
need to inform Peck that, as he has told us, the personnel department
is available to help with counseling so that he can get a better
perspective on life. The poor man. Please, Chris, don’t slash your
wrists.

Bill Day

Memphis

Defending Torture

As a citizen of Tennessee, I was shocked to hear one of my senators
attempt to defend torture. As Attorney General Eric Holder was being
questioned, Senator Lamar Alexander stated that Congress might have to
go back to the Clinton administration to look for torture. As if 9/11
happened before George Bush became president.

This thinly veiled threat was Alexander’s way of saying that he and
his fellow Republicans would do anything to stop the Department of
Justice from continuing to look into who ordered and approved the use
of torture by the United States of America.

The former party of law and order now stands on the side of
criminals and the use of torture to further their aims. That’s what was
really happening behind the use of torture. Bush and Cheney wanted
someone to say Saddam (and Iraq) had WMDs, and if torture had to be
applied to get them to say it, so be it. They had planned a war, and no
one was going to stop them.

Jack Bishop

Cordova

trousseau

In the Flyer‘s recent “Eyesores” cover story (April 2nd
issue), Michael Finger included the former Trousseau building on Union
and gave readers the impression that our business had closed. I am
happy to say that Trousseau II is still serving customers at our new
location at 408 Perkins Extended. We are owned and operated by members
of the original family, and we are about to celebrate 60 years of
continuous business in Memphis.

In addition, my family is as dismayed as anybody by the condition of
our original building at 1775 Union, but we would like to point out
that we no longer own the property and are not responsible for its
state of disrepair. In fact, we wish the current owners would remove
the Trousseau name from the facade. It’s still a very nice-looking
building, though, and perhaps it can be saved instead of being turned
into a parking lot for Schnucks.

Amy Friedman, Owner

Trousseau II

Memphis