Mailbag

Applause for Danehy's Handicap Space Column

Good commentary on individuals without disabilities taking parking spaces away from those who need them (Danehy, Aug. 19). There is a $500 fine for parking in one of these spaces without a permit or handicapped plate. If the city is so short of money, all they need to do is station a cop at stores like Costco, and start issuing tickets. When some of these "bitches" finally do find themselves in the position of needing a handicapped space, maybe they will then realize that convenience is for those who really need it.

There are all kinds of disabilities that will get a person a disabled permit. They could have asthma or emphysema, use a walker or wheelchair or just have a problem walking long distances. Too bad the "bitches" don't realize this, but their day will come, either with a fine or a disability--and they may find someone else parked in the space they need. Short-term use is no excuse.

George McFerron


A Tender Letter From One of Danehy's Biggest Fans

After reading the Aug. 19 column, "Handicap spaces: half taken by the handicapped, half taken by bitches," I had to ask myself, "Who's the bigger bitch: The person that bends and breaks the law, or the person who does nothing but complain about it?"

My guess is Tom has never worked with the handicapped, nor does he donate percentages of his income to handicap organizations. He is more of a passive-aggressive douchebag than a 50-foot-tall, fire-breathing, defender of the "handy-capable." Did he ever call the police or bring the problem to Costco's management? Well, did he, tiddlywinks? I don't think so; he just complained about it. Another guess: If one of the men he called a "bitch" (if that really happened) had turned around and beat him to a pulp, Tom would have called the police, pressed charges, sued and requested a handicap parking permit for himself. Tom should either take action or not be a whiner about the issues.

Jimmy Goeller


Lesson for Tuttle: Appreciate the Past, but Adapt

In response to opinion piece by Connie Tuttle (Aug. 19) in regards to technology and language:

I sympathize with your view, Ms. Tuttle. I, too, have some of the same problems with modern technology that you mentioned, and I'm no "techie." However, I part ways with you on the subject of how technology has relegated the meaning of some words to "second thoughts." I may be a living dictionary, but ...

I truly believe it is possible that technology and nature can live in harmony. The word "blackberry" still conjures just that image you described, at least for me. However, my main point is technology and language evolve. Evolution is a natural part of life.

My 5-year-old daughter, born during this technological age, is certainly resistant to change. She waxes nostalgic about the places we "used to live" or the times we used to have only a year or two ago. She just started kindergarten--yet another inevitable change. She is adjusting; I am adjusting. By the way, she is a whiz on the computer. I am still a student in cyberspace. What's so bad about adapting to the present while appreciating the past?

Regarding the evolution of the Guttenberg type to today's "glitzy" and "soulless" technology used to print the written word: Those reporters, editors and printers of the past would be amazed and probably delighted at how far we have come. I am writing this on a piece of paper by the way. I do not yet own a printer.

Veronica "Ronnie" Noyce


Grimm's Views on Aging, Sex Are Grim (Har!)

So I'm new to Tucson, and was excited to find the Tucson Weekly, which claims to be "the alternative to bland daily journalism in the Sonoran Desert." Then, I read Bob Grimm's review of The Mother ("Traumatizing Sex," Aug. 19). Grimm reveals that his attitudes about aging and sex are, well ... grim (not to mention bland). I couldn't believe we had seen the same film.

Grimm describes "lots and lots of graphic, somewhat frightening, dirty, dirty sex." I think there were three (maybe four?) sex scenes. And they aren't nearly as graphic as the sex in most R-rated U.S. films or most music videos. And "dirty, dirty?" Wow ... Grimm even describes the subject of the film as "hideous." Would Grimm have been so frightened if the lead actor had been 20 rather than 69?

Sadly, Grimm wants sex to be young and-- yes--bland. That ageist, sex negativity is a shame coming from Tucson's "alternative to bland daily journalism."

Stephen T. Russell


The Most Offensive Letter We've Received in Weeks

As a resident of the Tortolita Fan, I found your very sympathetic article on the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary a little one-sided ("Oink If You Care," Currents, Aug. 19). Allow me to supply a little dose of reality.

First, this place is not "near Marana." In fact, it has been plopped down in an area that is the last and best of the Pimeria Alta. While the feds have tried to preserve a little of the saguaro forest in the national park, that land is almost all steep and rocky. In the Tortolita Fan, we have the same biota existing on fairly level ground, which makes the area biologically unique, since most similar places have long since been destroyed by sprawl or farming. The existence of a pig farm for the purpose of assuaging the consciences of city people is like a little cancer in the middle of this beautiful ecosystem.

If, in fact, the "Marana couple" has refrained from destroying part of the land they've purchased, it may be commendable, or may be just an investment in wildcat development, like all the other city people invading the Sonoran Desert.

Oh, and by the way, what are they doing caring for large numbers of livestock in a place with NO WATER? If this doesn't tell you that these are clueless city people, I don't know what could. The Avra Valley is loaded with land that has been cleared for farming more than the last 100 years, much of it now fallow, that has plenty of water. Why in the world did these people ignore the valley to settle in a place that has never been cleared (until now) and has no water for livestock?

I ignore for the moment the silliness of treating pigs like pets. The insanity of this is made obvious by the existence of places like the Ironwood Sanctuary. If they need some help, I've got a dynamite homemade barbecue sauce recipe.

Steve Meiller


Props on Perry Story, With One Correction

Congratulations. To my mind, the Al Perry cover stories in the Aug. 25 edition really nailed the cat. He's a superb musician, has an intriguing intellect and is a hipster saint. Simply put, my life is better off for knowing the guy.

However, there is one inaccuracy in your piece concerning my involvement in his new CD, Always a Pleasure. While I DID design the CD package and shoot the recording-studio photos, that lasso-twirling cowgirl with the curiously lascivious gaze was, in fact, appropriated from an old Arizona decal, circa 1950s.

I have no idea who the original artist was or who first printed the decal. She's been posted to my bulletin board for more than 20 years, begging me to incorporate her into one of my projects. When I was approached to do the CD package, I promptly introduced her to Mr. Perry. Something told me they'd be perfect together. After all, as Al pointed out in the article, he digs "crazy chicks."

Anyway, I'd still like to thank you for my 15 minutes of Warholian notoriety. As an unashamed egomaniac and unrepentant attention whore, I was thrilled to my very marrow to see my name in print--regardless of the context.

Ronn Spencer