LETTERS

Made big-boy choices

Re the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Chancellor David Gearhart: Wow!

First, talk about wagon-circling. I haven’t seen such robust circling of wagons since the last Hogeye Chuck Wagon Race. Trust me, emotions and tears do run at “real men” events such as these.

Next, I must say Ms. Boyce Billingsley attacked hard and well and would have made a “Brother Honky” proud with her invocation of the “Your Mama Card.”

Ma’am, I pretty much only told my children two things growing up:

Never let a baiter suck you into a fight over the uttering of a “Your mama does __” (fill in the many number of choice words in the blank). A little older, my only other mama rule was never smoke cigarettes or use nicotine.

I think I was reasonable.

So, G. David Gearhart is a big boy who made big choices, just like an uneducated, poor, 15-year-old young lady choosing a morning-after pill, an abortion or an abrupted childhood.

I think this grown man can go down on his own record for his own decisions with or without his mama, his brothers, his buddies or his pride. Surely he is not an addict and has saved some money for lakeside retirement.

SHARON DAVISON Fayetteville

Sectioning problems

Re the letter from Alan Reese of Bryant: I was so happy to read this letter about the paper and how it is put together. Always thought I should write about it. One other item is the Sunday paper-not everyone reads the classified section, so why do they “hide” the TV guide there? I think it is a big enough section to be on its own. JANE WALKER Cabot

Warmth and comfort

With the cold wind continuing to blow outside, I find warmth and comfort in remembering many happy days from days gone by.

On the occasion of my 30th wedding anniversary, my beloved husband gifted me with a hand-sewn quilt expressing his love for me. To wit: “You are the star that guides my ship. I will love you forever, T.J.”

I hope these thoughts will bring a smile to readers.

We were married for 49 years, one year shy of 50.

RUTH R. WHITAKER Little Rock

Remains of the past

Old barns. Dilapidated old structures. Some still being used, most abandoned. I watch for them along our highways and back roads. Sometimes I stop and take a quick photo. Some I frame for display. Something about them draws me to them. Judging by their number, I think there must be some widespread superstition that it is bad luck to tear down an old barn.

Or perhaps it is the memories they might contain that saves them from the wrecking bar or torch. Memories of some favorite animal that was housed within; of moments spent looking out from a hayloft at a sudden summer rain providing a break from chores; memories of barnyard smells not exactly pleasant but not unpleasant either, of animal waste mixed with dirt and moldy straw and old wood warmed by the sun and cooled by the rain. Old memories leaking out between the cracks and gaps of the aging boards.

I think old barns and old people have a lot in common. Like them, we stand away from the busy traffic of life, unnoticed by most, sagging in places with creaky hinges and aging roofs. Tottering and swaying, we wait for that final collapse. We too have old memories that seem to seep from every pore.

But we do have one advantage over those wooden remains of the past. We can at least share our memories, our thoughts, maybe even some wisdom.

If we want to. And we should.

JOHN McPHERSON Searcy

Best part of the paper

As I was reading the Sunday paper and the High Profile section, it hit me. I will be moving to Searcy soon, and the paper there does not carry the High Profile part of the brides and grooms.

I think the featured brides and grooms need to be added to the Searcy area Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A lot of couples come from that area.

I’m sure going to miss it. That’s the best part of the Sunday paper, with a good cup of coffee. I hope, so much, that you will consider this.

DONNA REYNOLDS Sherwood

Why praise R.E. Lee?

Holy mother of Jefferson Davis, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has blessed us with a full editorial page celebrating the birthday of Robert E. Lee, and for many I’m sure the tribute went down like butter on hot corn bread.

For others, maybe not so much.

No matter how one spins the legend of Lee, I believe the fact remains that he was a slave master participating in and profiting from an institution that sustained itself with a measure of violence and terror that characterizes the worst of our modern police states. Sadly, I think his great military skills and leadership only served to prolong this country’s bloodiest conflict, and had he been successful in his life’s defining quest, slavery and all its attendant horrors might well have survived in the South into the 20th Century.

Celebrate Robert E. Lee? Better take a strong dose of Margaret Mitchell before the party.

CLEVE MAY Little Rock

Cold? It must be a lie

Shortly after hitting zero degrees recently in Arkansas, a pair of our brightest let us dummies know that global warming is obviously a hoax.

Hopefully these good old boys read the Jan. 15th sports section. If not, here is the interesting part: “… just before midnight, the temperature had dipped from a blazing 108 degrees Fahrenheit to a relatively cool 86” in Australia.

I’m pretty sure scientists who study change and report on the world’s climate use more than one day’s temperatures in Arkansas or Australia. I’m also pretty sure the old saying about empty wagons is still true.

JIM RAWLINS Bigelow