Letters for November 28, 2002

Having read Miranda Jesch’ s review of Proscenium Players’ production of The Heidi Chronicles, I am impressed by her perceptiveness and insights into the social conditions portrayed in the play. She was correct in feeling dissatisfied: Where personal or society goals are ill-defined, their pursuit can offer no satisfaction. While Heidi appears to be a rudderless vessel on a sea of confusion, buffeted by the winds of social change, she does have the dedication to her art that allows her to chronicle and evaluate the role of western women through the ages even though she is uncertain of contemporary conditions.

All this acknowledged, I am dissatisfied: The audience (as well as the actors) deserves a critique of performance, not of literature, a recognition of talent and dedication, not commentary on the failings of American culture. Her rating of “fair” for “the show” would appear antithetical not only to the characters, but to The Human Condition in general. Life is not fair. The RN&R review was also not fair because it ignored the people who allowed the reviewer an opportunity for enlightenment and self-discovery. Plays, like life, do not always have a happy resolution, but we should always be richer for the experience.

Tom Strekal
Carson City

You socialist slugs
Re “No Loosey Gooseys Here” [RN&R Editorial, Nov. 7] and “Gender Smarts” [RN&R Essay, Nov. 7]:

Dear Reno Commie & Review: Thanks for the editorial informing local voters how STUPID they are! Wasn’t it your rag that was thumping the tub for more and more voters to show up at the polls? Well, turnout was up a bit but it was the employed, tax-paying, right-leaning voter who showed up. The trouble with the non-working, non-voting, tax-sucking slugs is that they don’t show up at the polls to vote themselves some largesse from the treasury.

Oh, and thanks for the Gloria Steinem piece on how STUPID women are that they don’t vote in lockstep with her ideas. Her idea of Utopia is that women should go forward as a unified bloc of voters instead of fostering their own independent thoughts and acting on them. Talk about lacking respect for women. She should be arrested for some sort of mental abuse of her sex.

Face it. Some people see things differently from your socialist views. Good thing this is America and they can’t yet be arrested. It is convenient to simply castigate them for their STUPIDITY and get that warm fuzzy of superiority. You can work on the arrest thing later.

B. Wood
Reno

Shame, shame
Re “Griffin’s passing” [RN&R View From The Fray, Nov. 14]:

You really should get your story straight and watch out using such nasty language. “Obnoxious critic?” Sam [Dehne] is only watching out for YOU and others. You should be applauding him his efforts and expertise. A lone voice in a corrupt environment … and you just feed it exactly what it wants to feed on. It is you and your ilk that make it hard for the people who really care. You should be ashamed.

Ilani Donley
via e-mail

The editor responds: Thanks for your comments. I just channel the ambient noise. “Obnoxious” is what was playing on Friday and Tuesday. I wasn’t justifying it—just acknowledging it. I’m one of Sam’s biggest fans, you know.

Well, in that case, I shall take it in light of the author. I must admit I am partial since I am his little sister. Hard to say that at age 60.

Ilani

A bad OJ vibe
Re “Taste o’ New Orleans” [RN&R Food Finds, Nov. 7]:

I would just like to say that, while your experience at Mimi’s Café was cool, mine was not. I am mulatto and my fiancé is Jamaican. While we waited for our table, my sweet teddy bear of a man received many dirty looks from older white people. We were finally seated closest to the door (oh well) and our server took her time in greeting us and getting drinks for us. When she did come to take our order, she told me they were out of fresh-squeezed orange juice. I settled for grapefruit juice. The kicker: After our waitress had told me there was no orange juice, I heard a man at the next table order it. She brought it to him.

I suppose the New Orleans theme is just that—a theme. My dad was born and raised in New Orleans, and black people made that city what it is—the birthplace of jazz. The restaurant’s staff should learn to treat everyone the same.

Kathy Rixner
via e-mail

Editor’s note: Not to diminish the seriousness of your claims, but it would be appropriate to mention that our reviewer, Catherine Greenspan, is also biracial.