Call of the Wild
Regarding the “culture” of Gastonia (“Signs of Life in Gastonia” by Judy Cole, Oct. 3), perhaps we don’t have some of the amenities our larger neighbors enjoy. But the fact that Gaston County has not grown as fast as is its greatest asset, something our civic leaders are quickly to realizing. There are hundreds of acres of protected wilderness in the county, with efforts underway to protect more. The two tallest mountains in the Piedmont are in Crowders Mountain State Park — within Gastonia’s city limits. Some of the longest free-flowing sections of river in the region are along the South Fork of the Catawba. Three Gaston cities and the County itself pledged financial support for the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Mount Holly’s green-print includes a 5 mile waterfront park, with eventual connections to the Mountain Island Educational State Forest, the whitewater park, and the Carolina Thread Trail. All across the county plans are underway for dozens of miles of greenway, mountain bike, and canoe trails. Lacking culture? Shucks … We’ll just have to settle with someday being the only spot left in the Charlotte Metro region with a green alternative to endless cul-de-sacs, big-box retail, and cookie-cutter McMansion neighborhoods.
— Gary Mims, Gastonia
Sicker and More Tired
I want to say that it is good to know that I am not the only one who is sick and tired (The N Word: “Sick and Tired” by Nsenga Burton, Sept. 26). I would add to Ms. Burton’s list: Anna Nicole Smith, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, reckless drivers who speed and/or tailgate and refuse to use turn signals, irresponsible and lazy people who refuse to recycle. It is easy to lose heart when you see all that is wrong with our society. Thanks for a timely reminder to create light a candle rather than to simply curse the darkness.
— Robert Yost, Charlotte
Take Out the Trash
I would like to commend Linda Luise Brown for her frank assessment (Letters, Oct. 17) of Tara’s “skill,” and assure her that she is not alone in the realization that Ms. Servatius is little more than a hate-mongerer.
Since her smear job (ripe with elementary-level “research,” egregiously wrong assumptions and Tara’s oh-so-self-righteous condescension) on one of my projects many years ago, I have referred to her as Tara SirVicious. She rarely fails to live up to her moniker.
Hopefully the average reader will not have to fall victim to one of her outlandish accusations to recognize her column for what it is: trash.
I do not bother to read her column any longer because I know first-hand that accuracy, truth and common sense will play no role. She lost all credibility with me years ago.
I am happy to report that I enjoy CL more than ever, it’s easy to take Tara’s power away … just ignore her! You won’t be the only one.
— J. Wilson, Charlotte
Correction
In last week’s issue, the crossword puzzle did not match its clues due to a design error. The correct puzzle and clues are in this week’s issue. We apologize for the mistake.
This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2007.
Must be a group meeitng of the ever so touchy, yet slightly adled artsy crowd going on. “J. Wilsom” doesn’t read Tara the “hate mongerer” but knows that Brown is spot on in her critique. Amazing! He can assess that which he has not read! Neat trick there “J.”
Oh, and “J.”, I wouldn’t position myself as an all purpose opponent of smear tactics and hate mongering if you’re going to applaud that sour grapes letter by Brown: it was not exactly a model of reasoned criticism. (More like a hormonal storm. Kind of makes one wonder if all three of you weren’t competing for the same man at one point or another, and you two lost!)
This is really getting prety rich: Brown made a fool of herself by visciously decrying visciousness; now you’ve jumped on her bandwagon by applauding her critique of what you claim to have ignored. I can’t wait for your encore!
“SirVicious”. Wow, did that take you hours to come up with? What an idiot you’ve shown yourself to be; no wonder you won’t provide your full name.