Props to Dave
To the Editor:
Thanks to Jackson Baker for giving veteran broadcaster Dave Black
his props (Viewpoint, August 23rd issue). As a fan of radio, I know a great
voice when I hear it and Dave was the only person I know who could make a farm
report so interesting and funny that I would tune in just to hear it.
I’d like to add to the list of survivors of Mr. Black: Milo must
be beside himself with grief. His regular listeners know who I’m talking
about.
Thanks for the good radio, Dave.
Jeff Golightly
Memphis
Even Sillier?
To the Editor:
In his letter to the editor in the August 16th issue of the
Flyer, Peter Gathje made the following point about CBU’s decision to
prohibit Rev. James Lawson from speaking at the Pax Christi meeting scheduled
for the CBU campus: “It is silly to hold that Rev. Lawson would be an
appropriate keynote speaker. It would be akin to the Sierra Club having as a
keynote speaker for its national meeting someone who advocates drilling for
oil in the Alaska national wildlife refuge.”
I would like to point out that it is even sillier to compare
limited-agenda organizations such as Pax Christi and the Sierra Club with a
university, where free and open discussion of ideas and issues is supposed to
occur.
Ray W. Brown
Memphis
Mud Island Flop
To the Editor:
I enjoyed John Branston’s “Down By The Riverside”
(Cover story, August 23rd issue) about the big plans that the RDC has for Mud
Island. One problem though: The cover photo was “backwards.” How
could I tell? For starters, the Mud Island Amphitheatre is south of the DeSoto
bridge, not north of it. My working assumption here is that the photo was
taken on the Tennessee side because Arkansas doesn’t have any high-rise
buildings on the Mississippi River from which to pose.
Be careful, Flyer, your readers do notice the small
details.
Mark McKee
Memphis
Editor’s note: Last week’s cover photo was inadvertently
“flopped” during the production process. Thanks to reader McKee (and
several others) for pointing out the error.
Not Priscilla Fans?
To the Editor:
The real reason the Church of Scientology has not tried to
proselytize Elvis fans with a high regard for Priscilla or Lisa Marie
(“Elvis and Scientology,” August 8th issue) is that so far they
haven’t been able to find any.
David Sweeney
Memphis
Bravo
To the Editor:
Bravo from those of us in the ED at Methodist Central! Someone
finally understands the impact closing Baptist Central had on the downtown
area (“No Room At the ER,” August 8th issue)! The nurses and doctors
work hard to deliver the best possible care to every patient who walks or
rolls through the doors. Unfortunately, we often feel defeated at that task.
Not only did Baptist move its hundreds of beds out east, it also eliminated
hundreds more when it closed St. Joseph. So not one but two downtown hospitals
have closed and/or moved in less than three years.
This is the story the hidden cameras in the waiting room don’t
show. Ambulances wait. Walk-ins wait. Hospitals go on diversion status just to
keep from drowning. Stretchers quickly become filled and we do the best we can
to take care of those patients abandoned by the big hospital down the
street.
The nurses and doctors appreciate what Rebekah Gleaves wrote and
her understanding. Not everyone can see the big picture and often we are the
bad guys because of this. Thank you so much for hearing what we have been
saying all along.
Shannon Martin, RN
Memphis
Overworked
To the Editor:
The issue of overworked Americans (“The Overworked
American,” August 23rd issue) has more long-term implications than lost
productivity. Our system relies on mass productivity rather than efficient
productivity. Americans who work 60 hours a week have no time to socialize
with their families, much less monitor information sources. Our democracy is
undermined by an uninformed or misinformed citizenry.
This gives rise to corporate domination through advertising and
marketing and a de-emphasis on the nuclear family. The nuclear family is now
subservient to the bottom line of corporations.
Ran W. Foster
Green Party of Shelby County
The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. Send mail to:
Letters to the Editor, POB 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. Or call Back Talk at 575-
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