King of Memphis
Thank you for Bruce VanWyngarden’s editor’s note in the Flyer‘s February 9th issue. That was much-needed advice.
I’m making a list of 10 topics to discuss when my acquaintances begin to insult Memphis. We chose to retire in Memphis, because it is a fine place to live. With all the smoke that’s been generated, it is easy to become defensive. Each community in the county has a proud history. We in Memphis must not forget ours. We have much to be proud of.
Sandra H. Cook
Memphis
Re: Bruce VanWyngarden’s editor’s note — I will shut up about race if you will shut up about suburbs and annexations, county schools, the Occupy movement, the Tennessee Tea Party, Willie Herenton, greenlines, the animal shelter, and MGMT, all of which have taken up considerable space in the pages of the Flyer. You cannot deem race a nonissue because it “ticks people off.” Furthermore, how are we to celebrate this city’s “cultural, racial, and gender diversity” without mentioning race (and without ticking anybody off)?
Jayne Gipson
Memphis
Dear Delta …
I am a frequent flyer from Memphis International Airport, a Delta medallion member, and a Delta American Express cardholder. In January 2012, I was on 11 Delta flights traveling over 20,000 miles. My life, for more than a quarter of the year, revolves around Delta airlines, because traveling to visit clients is an important part of my career.
Delta featured the city of Memphis in its December in-flight magazine. The article praised the city as the hub of “America’s Aerotropolis,” where more than 10 million people are serviced by the airport annually. Delta is the leading commercial passenger airline at MEM. These advertisements for the city were exciting and impressive but led me to think about the relationship the city has with Delta.
In December, the Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics named Memphis International the most expensive airport in America to fly out of, at an average of $476.22 for a round-trip ticket. This same month, Delta also pulled 100 flights out of the Memphis airport.
How is it justifiable that the city named the poorest large metro area in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau is also ranked the most expensive to fly out of? It appears that Delta has the upper hand in this relationship, taking advantage of Memphis travelers, who really do not have much of a choice when it comes to selecting an airline. It is time for Memphians to take a stand against the unreasonable and out-of-control airline ticket prices.
I am a Delta fan, but the continued increase in ticket prices and the reduction of flights lead me to believe there is another travel option out there. It is time for Delta executives to consider what the airline is doing to Memphians (especially after posting around $800 million in profits in 2011). I simply ask that you reevaluate the relationship the airline has with Memphis.
Laura D’Antoni
Memphis
Jekyll-Hyde
The Mid-South has a sort of Jekyll-Hyde personality. It is a lovely, genteel area filled with seemingly polite and caring people. Then politics enters the picture and the monster emerges. The Republicans want to force women to have unplanned and unwanted children. They want to tell consenting adults who they can marry, deny bargaining rights to hard-working Americans, and give massive tax breaks to billionaires under the false pretext of job creation. They want to take away the safety net of older Americans as well as removing their medical insurance. Cries of “Let them die!” ring out at Republican rallies and debates. They oppose medical insurance for the poor and children.
I don’t know what evil potion induces people to think in such heartless, warped ways. Hopefully, an antidote can be found before the election rolls around. Otherwise, we can say goodbye to the poor and middle class.
Jim Brasfield
Memphis
Vagina Monologues
Driving on Union Avenue, I saw a sign that said something about The Vagina Monologues, and I wondered if there could be more vagina things. For example, what about the Vagina Olympics? The list began to grow, as follows:
The Vagina Duet, the Vagina Cooking School, 92nd Airborne Vaginas, the Vagina String Quartet, Semper Vagina, the Vagina Turnpike, Vaginas Without Borders, No Vagina Left Behind, the Vagina Bowl, Vaginas for Beginners, Vagin-Anonymous. And so on. I could see I’d stumbled onto something.
John Pritchard
Memphis
