Letters for March 8, 2012

Out of their league

Reno strives to provide “major league” attractions for the community and for its visitors. The Reno Chamber Orchestra (RCO) does just that for in addition to its concert season, it now runs the nationally-recognized Nevada Chamber Music Festival every December. For 25 years, the RCO has presented “Derby Day” to the community as its major annual fund-raising event. Held the day of the Kentucky Derby, the event features mint juleps, a luncheon, a silent and live auction, a hat contest, and large-screen television viewing of the race. When I learned that the Junior League of Reno was considering having its own “Derby Day” fundraiser, I immediately telephoned the chair of the committee to voice my concern over the League having an identical event in competition with that of the RCO. I was dismissively told that the League appealed to a different audience, totally ignoring the fact that both events would be in direct competition for the silent auction items that are their “bread-and-butter.” I have always admired the work of the Junior League, but in this instance it is behaving more like a “bush league” in that it should be supporting the efforts of the RCO and the real “Derby Day” rather than entering into head-to-head competition with it.

James R. Kidder
Reno

World games

Re “Poor spelling is a sign of ignorance” (Apply Liberally, March 1):

Before Casey O’Lear slams the state for its grammatical errors, she might want to try proofreading her own column. Here’s a quote from her March 1 posting in the RN&R: “One of four signs leading the way into Carson City misspelled the world “capital.”

What the “L” was she writing here? Did she mean the “word” capital, or is she of the mind that Carson City is the world capital?

Beth Perry
via email

Editor’s note: Dennis Myers, Brad Bynum, Ashley Hennefer and I all get to share responsibility for that one since we all read everything. Complaining about other people’s writing in print is a guarantee karma will be served.

Break a leg

This evening I attended Love Letters at the Good Luck Macbeth theater here in Reno. To tell the truth, I only went because I had been given free tickets. Wow, was that ever a stroke of fortune. Love Letters is a play by A.R. Gurney, and this production is directed by Tony DeGeiso. The two-person cast rotates, so you may see different actors if you choose to attend, and I encourage you to do so. The actors tonight were Scott Rankin and Juli Fair, and they plied their craft splendidly. Fair, as Melissa, was wonderfully communicative from the outset, while at first I had the feeling that Rankin was not telling us much about his character, Andrew. That was wrong; Andrew is just a somewhat reserved character, and it takes some time for him to let us—and Melissa—get to know him. The play lets us see deeply into the lives of two friends, one male and one female, who by play’s end have known each other all their lives by means of the letters they have written to each other. Go see it. You won’t regret it.

Bob Clevenger
Reno

Poets can stay

Re “Poor spelling is a sign of ignorance” (Apply Liberally, March 1):

Funny how the folks who are always a-hollerin’ ’bout the need for English Only educashun are usually the self-same lowbrow chumps who can neither read nor write in their native language. Perhaps we can institute a policy whereby Nevadans who can’t pass a basic literacy and citizenship test by high school graduation are deported.

Who on Earth would want these homegrown cretins remains to be seen, but it seems like a modest solution to an enormous problem in this state.

And of course, it would make us a blue state in perpetuity.

C. Rosamond
Reno

Hot down there

Re “Getting on and getting it on” (Feature story, March 1):

Those horny oldsters better watch out, lest they start a house fire with all that friction on dry bushes.

Leslie White
Reno

Move for political benefit

Re “Sheila Leslie: carpetbagger” (Right to Your Head, Feb. 23):

It is sad that Valerie P. Cohen attacked Sean Cary and falsely defined “carpetbaggers.” Whether she likes it or not, “carpetbaggers” was in fact a derogatory term applied to northerners who mostly came to the post Civil War South in order to profit from the poverty and defeat of southerners. No doubt some of the people who came south were as she described them in her letter to the editor, but she should have at least looked up the definition of the word rather than applying her own definition.

Fred Speckmann
Reno

Angle’s switch

Re “Angle shocked by party switching” (Upfront, March 1):

Sharron Angle’s party switching is a far cry different than what Steve Welch did and continues to do. Welch switched parties so he could vote for Barack Obama and that is a matter of public record. He also openly holds fundraisers at his house for Democrat liberals like Joe Sestak. Believe me, Sharron Angle did not switch parties to vote for Obama, and she absolutely does not openly support or finance Democrats as a Republican.

Richard LaRossa
Ewing, N.J.

Statin alertRe “New age, old age” (Editor’s note,March 1):

My mother had heart disease. At 60 she was on statins. She had five-way bypass at 65. She had a stroke three years later, then one more. Still on statins. At 75, she lost the ability to walk. Statins were the cause. Oh yes she lived to be in her 90s but in a wheelchair. Look around you; people in their 50s are shuffling when they walk. People are aging faster. Read the article, www.wellbeingjournal.com. Go online and read any article about statins, they are all the same. My pharmacist friend told me once that doctors have to protect themselves from being sued. Don’t join the statin cult. The only time a doctor is going to try to save your life is when you are in the emergency room. You had your warnings. Start a change by learning about your body. I did at the age of 50. I was diagnosed with 60 percent blocked arteries.

When I was younger, I was the weakest and sickest of the family. I am now 63. I did a 180 with the diet, cleaned out my arteries from the transfats with chelation. Had a MRI and the arteries are clean. I am by far healthier than I was in my 20s. I eat only fresh produce, mainly organic, and wild fish. People cringe at the price. How much does it cost to buy the packages and bottles imitating food? Cash for restaurants? Having a good time? Think smart. It will cost to repair the damage.

I naturally have cholesterol in the 250 range, but my ratio is only 2.5. High triglycerides are telling you how sticky your blood is. The stickier it is, then plaque builds. This comes from sugar. You have been building since you were on the bottle. Look at the amount of sugar being put in milk, so kids and adults get hooked. The white stuff is the other cocaine. So, if your think your dear doctor is going to save your life, think smart, and take control of your own life.

Change can be made, although it’s not easy to make in this fast food world.

Ginevra Ragan
via email