Love-Hate Mail
Gun shy
The article “Shootout on Lower Broad” (July 13) illustrates the failure of our criminal court system to keep hardened criminals who commit gun crimes behind bars. This guy never should have been let out of jail. I found his statement regarding guns interesting. Legally, he cannot purchase a firearm and is not supposed to be in possession of a firearm. If he is, then he has committed yet another crime. Furthermore, he took a gun and deliberately shot a police officer in a bar while on the run from the law. The gun did not magically jump out of his waistband and start firing. What a snow job this guy and his lawyer pulled on the parole board.
LLOYD WILLIAMS williamslloyd@msn.com (Nashville)
Back support
I read with interest your piece about my support for Tim Lee in the District 23 Metro Council race (Political Notes, July 13). This is not, nor should it be, about my support for one candidate or another, nor is it about the fact that a few Harding parents (like me) know and like Tim Lee. Former councilman Whitson supports Tim Lee. Former councilman Bogan supports Tim Lee. Tim has broad, diverse and active support across the district and the city. The Nashville Business Coalition, MNEA, Fire Fighters and FOP all back Tim.
Tim Lee came to me and asked for my support. Same as I am sure he did with lots of folks who live in District 23 and who vote. The other candidate did not. I tend to help people who ask me. I am lucky enough in my professional life to work with the fine men and women of the Metro Council quite a lot. It is a really difficult, important job. I count a number of current council members as friends. I greatly respect what they do for our city. My family and I also live in District 23. Chris Whitson was a great councilman. He left big shoes to fill.
It is important that we elect people with open minds to the district council positions, people who will work for what they believe is in the best interest of the city as a whole, who will not just focus on one issue but who will have an interest in the wide range of challenges that face this community, who believe that it is through dialogue, understanding and compromise that great things get done and who will represent the interests of their entire district and not just one distinct neighborhood. Ms. Evans, over a number of years and in a number of capacities, has given little or no indication that she can or will do any of these things. Tim has talked about neighborhoods, yes, but he has also talked about the need to expand our city’s tax base and to make an investment in a new convention center. There’s more depth to the job than just a historic zoning overlay in one neighborhood, and, in my opinion, Tim just gets it.
JAMES M. WEAVER 212 Deer Park Circle (Nashville)
Part-time lover
As a resident of Metro Council District 23, I was interested in your story about Emily Evans (“Emily’s Enemies,” July 6). It seems from your article that the main issue in the election is the academy vs. the neighborhood. I would think, however, that the majority of voters have little interest in this battle. I have never laid eyes on either candidate, but I have formed an opinion. I have discovered that Emily Evans’ opponent is a Dickson County paramedic who only spends the night in Davidson County. I asked former Metro Council member Bob Bogen if he really thought this man was qualified, and the reply was, “He is a quick learner.” When I asked Mr. Bogen if his candidate’s work absence from the district wasn’t a handicap, Mr. Bogen replied, “He is really quick with his cell phone.” Naturally, I decided to vote for Evans, who is eminently qualified. In fact, I would like to thank her for making the race and feel confident she will represent all of us all the time.
ELIZABETH QUEENER 6416 Brownlee Dr. (Nashville)
“Speak; I am bound to hear”
Fondren has slowed down his delivery, perhaps because the traffic has slowed down (“Bill Fondren Out-Enunciates Corey Flintoff in NPR Smackdown,” The Fabricator, July 13). The real test is to compare him not to Corey Flintoff but rather to the guy who does all the underwriting mentions on NPR. He must record his tracks in front of a mirror. Bring back the best voice: Bob Edwards.
BRIAN O’NEILL hbon@comcast.net (Brentwood)
Smooth talker
All I have to say about The Fabricator this week is, “Thanks, Bill” (“Bill Fondren Out-Enunciates Corey Flintoff in NPR Smackdown,” The Fabricator, July 13).
JACQUELINE FELLOWS Morning Edition Host & Reporter WPLN, Nashville Public Radio jacqueline@wpln.org (Nashville)
The movie’s the thing
I’m sorry, I can’t pass without comment the review of Hamlet (“Slings and Arrows”) published in the July 13 issue. I quote: “...the play’s opening lines—‘This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.’ ” This is not the play’s opening line (“Who’s there?”), nor is it by Shakespeare. It comes from the ancient 1948 Laurence Olivier movie version—and having seen that movie appears to be the limit of Martin Brady’s familiarity with the play. According to Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com), it’s not even the opening line of the movie. Are the New Bear Players using it (God forbid) as the opening line of their version? Then Brady complains about the length of the local production, forsooth, apparently wishing it had been as short, and as docked of “characters like Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Fortinbras” and of “notable Hamlet soliloquies” as the Olivier movie. Heck, if they’d cut out Polonius, Ophelia and the gravediggers, Hamlet could really get some momentum.
I think your reviewer should be sentenced to watch Kenneth Branagh’s brilliant 1996 Hamlet, which runs for four hours and uses the complete text of the play, over and over until he gets some grasp of what it is all about. No wonder the outside world says what it says about Tennessee if this is the best that Nashville’s “intellectual” newspaper can do for Shakespeare.
MARY M. STOLZENBACH 1603 Rosewood Dr. (Brentwood)
