Tragic Loss
To the Editor:
I am so saddened by the loss of Jimmy King. What an exciting showman and talented performer! I imagine he and Albert King are jamming together again.
Amidst my sadness at our loss, however, is a growing frustration at the lack of publicity our local musicians receive — unless, of course, they happen to die. My, how the wistful anecdotes and fond recollections pour out once a local musician passes on.
I rarely heard Jimmy King on local radio stations or mentioned on television until his passing last weekend. Now, it seems everyone in Memphis was his closest friend and biggest fan. In a town famous for crooked politics, failed sports ventures, rising crime, and pathetic education, our greatest attribute and redeeming asset is our music. Did you catch that? I said our music!
Had to get that off my chest.
Eric Hughes, Memphis
Unexamined Quote
To the Editor:
In Viewpoint (July 11th issue), Richard Cohen wrote, “If, as Plato said, the unexamined life is not worth living, then Al Gore has led one hell of a life.”
But Plato did not say that! It was Socrates — the father of Western philosophy — who said it.
Plato was a disciple of Socrates. Socrates was his teacher.
Arthur Prince, Memphis
Luttrell Man
To the Editor:
Sheriff candidate Mark Luttrell says his campaign is about “change.” Voters have a right to know who Luttrell is and why change is the last thing he should be talking about.
Former Shelby County mayor Bill Morris appointed A. C. Gilless director of the Shelby County Penal Farm. Morris also selected current county mayor Jim Rout to succeed him as mayor. Rout now supports Luttrell, another Penal Farm director, for county sheriff. Morris is also a strong Luttrell supporter. Looks like favoritism between friends or “good ole boy” backroom politics to me.
Luttrell has been a part of the system since birth. His father was a legendary corrections director and even has a federal facility named after him. It appears to me the type of change Mark Luttrell, Bill Morris, and Jim Rout are all talking about is superficial only. There is a real change being offered to voters of Shelby County, and Randy Wade represents that change.
Bill Sears, Collierville
Whose Ideas?
To the Editor:
Whose idea was it to create a temporary $25 wheel tax that is now permanent?
Whose idea was it to create a second mayor who would govern the county, a mayor whose office is a huge financial drain on the taxpayers?
The answer is Bill Morris, the first county mayor, who says that he gave A C Wharton his first job as public defender.
On July 15th, state taxes were raised, and if you want more raised taxes, then you certainly know who to cast your vote for.
Joe Mercer, Memphis
Dreads Election Day
To the Editor:
Would you vote for someone who believes in the tooth fairy? How about someone who believes in the Easter bunny? Santa Claus? Would you vote for someone who believes in Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster? How about a demon from hell who possesses innocent souls?
Would you vote for someone who believes the earth is flat? What about someone who believes the earth is only 6,000 years old or that two of every species on earth could fit on one boat?
Could you vote for someone who prays for the end of the world? Or who thinks you’re damned if you love the wrong person? Or believes that eternal torment awaits all those who doubt God’s infinite mercy? Could you vote for someone who thinks you are damned just because you think?
That’s why I dread election day.
Michael B. Conway
Memphis
