Love-Hate Mail
The war at home
In William Dean Hinton’s story on state Rep. John Mark Windle (“Citizen Soldier,” March 30), he writes, “Since forming in 1977, his unit, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment...had never been sent into combat.” That sentence is incorrect on two counts. First, the 278th actually traces its regimental lineage to the Revolutionary War; the story should have stated that it was reactivated in 1977. Secondly, many parts of the 278th went into combat in the first Gulf War. If memory serves me correctly, the company from Lafayette, Tenn., was called up in direct support (fuel) of the 18th Airborne Corps (which includes the 101st Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division). They were called up in the late summer or early fall of 1990. My recently deceased uncle, Staff Sgt. Jimmy King, was a member of the 3rd Battallion/278th Cavalry Regiment at the time.
JOEY KING jbkranger@aol.com (La Vergne)
California dreaming
I cannot rage enough about William Dean Hinton’s article “Puff, Puff, Pass” (March 23). Four years ago, as a medical school student, I helped disseminate a petition that led to the ban of smoking in Florida restaurants. As my home state was granted the right to clean air indoors, I moved to Nashville to do my residency at Vanderbilt.
Little did I know that, thanks to Big Tobacco, my dinners out and nights of dancing during residency would leave me nauseated, red-eyed and reeking of smoke due to the unhealthy habits of others. When visiting New York, California, Breckenridge, Colo., and Florida, where restaurant- and bar-goers can enjoy a meal or drink while breathing clean air, I almost lament the fact that I live in such a backward state.
Now, as a community pediatrician, second-hand smoke takes on a whole new meaning: I see its effects daily in the form of low birth weight babies with damaged lungs, increased colds, ear infections and asthma. Hinton’s article, which details the efforts of proactive high school students exhibiting far more intelligence and insight than many state congressmen have demonstrated, gives me a glimmer of hope for the future health of Tennessee.
KELSEY HAMILTON kelseyann98@yahoo.com (Nashville)
To be blount
In your article on the student anti-smoking bill (“Puff, Puff, Pass,” March 23), you made a grievous error when you referred to Sen. Ron Ramsey as a Blountsville Republican. It’s Blountville (pronounced “Bluntville”)—my hometown and the second oldest town in the state.
BILL SIZER bill_sizer@yahoo.com (Nashville)
Correction
In “Running Roughshod” (March 30), Dr. Christopher Fletcher’s criminal record was mischaracterized. Last year, Dr. Fletcher pled guilty in federal court to one misdemeanor count of unlawfully dispensing a controlled substance. His probation runs until 2008. The Scene regrets the error.
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