SPEAKOUT

Not everyone is a country-music fan

WHY IS it that the fair organizers only book country singers? Have they considered not everyone is a country-music fan? There are many of the rock groups from the '70s and '80s who are touring whom I'm sure people would want to come to see. Years ago there was an oldies rock show with several groups that was great and well-attended. So please think about this for next year.

News media treated it like a show

I VOTED for John F. Kennedy for president. I am saddened by his son's death and feel sorrow for his family, but the news media played this as a big show, trying for ratings. Even the Democratic leadership has tried to cash in with eulogies, sympathy and praise. There were hours and hours of coverage of every detail. What a disgraceful show by Dan Rather and Peter Jennings, who would take any situation and try to improve their ratings. Why not show some respect and decency? God bless all three who were taken.

Problems on Lombardo Street

THIS IS in reference to the person who called Speak Out about the city not caring about the weeds and old cars. If you lived on Lombardo, you would know for sure they don't care. Several residents have complained about the awful, dusty conditions. They wouldn't even clean the street so we could breathe clear air. They said they would take care of it, but they didn't.

Go to church and learn the right way

ANYONE WHO will lie will steal and anyone who will steal will lie. Is that we teach our kids? Take them to church and teach them the right way.

At 17, you can serve but not rent

I HAVE a little complaint with the federal government. It's pretty good that a man can go in the Army at 17 but can't rent his own apartment at 17 because there are laws against it because he's a minor. I do not think that's right.

Give school-bus drivers a break

I'M CALLING in reference to the school-bus drivers and the people giving flack about the raise. I would like to comment on the fact in cities and other towns the size of Jackson and Cape, there are people out there making $10 an hour. I think people should value the relationship that a bus driver has with the child, since the bus driver is the first person the child sees in the morning and the last person that child sees representing the school in the afternoon. And parents need to take the initiative to possibly ride along on a bus with the children and see what a bus driver goes through before they insult the bus drivers' salaries that they make. If they are still in disagreement with it, maybe they should try the job too.

And just where is Timbuktu?

I HEAR so much, read about, Timbuktu. I've noticed that their all spelled differently but I couldn't tell you how it's spelled and I was just wondering if you could tell me where they are, where all these cities are that are supposed to be Timbuktu? It would be so interesting if you could tell us.

REPLY: Timbuktu is a variation of Tombouctow, a town in the West African nation of Mali near the Niger River. Its population is about 20,000. The remoteness of the town has left it with the reputation of being at the end of the world. Hence the frequent references to anyplace that is remote as being Timbuktu.

Greenberg's comments on abortion

PAUL GREENBERG, the editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, delivered the keynote address at the national right-to-life convention held recently in Milwaukee. In that speech he stated, "If abortion is not wrong, abortion on demand, abortion for no good medical reason, abortion as a routine, accepted feature of American society, taking of innocent life without restrictions or scruple or qualm, if all that is not wrong, then nothing is. And soon enough everything will be given that kind of evasive, unthinking, disregard for life. For that is the nature of evil. It spreads, it becomes ordinary, profitable, allowed. Abortion today, euthanasia tomorrow, eugenics next in our brave, new tall world. Now and then I wonder if those on the other side of this issue can have thought this thing through, or don't they dare think it through?"

He was his mother's son

I APOLOGIZE for bursting the television commentators' bubble, but Americans aren't fascinated with the Kennedys. We all admired John Kennedy Jr., because he and his sister seemed to break away from the rest of the clan and tried to be honorable, thanks to their deceased mother. I personally couldn't care less about the rest of the Kennedy clan. The world welcomed John Jr. because he was his mother's son.

Stop the kids who drive through mudholes

I'M SICK of seeing these punk kids drive around in these four-wheel drive trucks, tearing up neighborhoods and going in local mudholes around the house. We need to stop this madness.

Maybe it took the scenic route

I'VE GOT a question that I would like the Postal Service to answer for me. I have in front of me a piece of first class mail that I know was mailed in Cape Girardeau on July 12 and postmarked July 16 in St. Louis and received here in Jackson on July 19. Why does it take seven days for a letter to get from Cape Girardeau to Jackson?

An insensitive statement

I HEARD where John Kennedy Jr. said that a child can't begin to live until both his parents are dead. I think that that's one of the most inhumane things that I have ever heard in my 59 years of living.

Most accidents due to pilot error

I HEARD on TV: Are small planes as safe as they should be? The answer is yes, yes, yes. Being a private pilot no longer flying, I learned from seminars I attended some aviation insurance facts. Most accidents occur because of pilot error. John-John, I grieve for you, your wife and her sister. Your lack of qualifications and judgment break my heart. Why did you attempt this flight? The Kennedy and Bessette families are in my prayers due to this unfortunate tragedy.

But did you make the sale?

I WOULD just like to make a comment to you people out there who answer the classified ads. Don't call in the middle of the night. I ran an ad for an item and received a call at 5 a.m. on Sunday, and someone else called at 1 a.m. on Monday. I don't know the circumstances why you were up at that hour, but the majority of the people work and are sleeping at 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Both calls startled me as I thought there was a family crisis by getting a phone call at such an hour. Give us a break. If you're going to answer a want ad, answer during the daylight hours.

Human error is part of life

TRAGEDIES ARE terrible, but there are many things in this life which cause tragedy. One of those is human error.