Editor:
I am an arts lover and Baby Boomer who attended the Gordon Lightfoot concert at the Clay Center Sept. 17. Having enjoyed his music for decades, I, along with hundreds of others, wanted to pay tribute to him and to recapture lovely memories which his songs engender. Although I didn't expect the same level of performance from his concert in Charleston in 1977, I was deeply disappointed.
From the time he took the stage until I felt compelled to leave at intermission, I experienced a gamut of emotions. They began with shock at his fragile appearance, to embarrassment at his extremely diminished vocal skills, to sadness that the picture of this evening will forever remain in my mind when I think of him.
Ironically, I had a somewhat similar experience at the last Dionne Warwick concert at the Clay Center. Another all-time favorite, she provided the audience a weakened, shortened performance, partially due to her "mature" voice which was exacerbated by her illness that evening.
In both cases, the audience was respectful, but I strongly believe that the cost of our tickets entitled us to more than was delivered. However, I don't begrudge the price which, I suppose, was a tribute to the hours of enjoyment their music has given me over the years.
So, the lesson I've learned is to save my money and to preserve my pleasurable memories, in the future I will be more selective in my choice of "baby boomer" concerts.
Linda Andresen
St. Albans
Tree-huggers make storms worse
Editor:
If there's one thing the last two storms taught us, it's that trees near power lines can cause hundreds or thousands to suffer needlessly. Most power outages are caused by trees falling over power lines.
I love trees as much as the next guy, but like people who own dogs or have children, tree owners are responsible for damage to neighbors when they refuse to allow trees to be trimmed back or cut down completely from power lines.
I'm sick of tree-huggers who go so far as to hire lawyers to prevent their offending trees to be trimmed, so that others in the area won't suffer during storms that otherwise might pass safely, had it not been for the tree-huggers.
It's one thing to love trees, quite another to endanger people with your attitude that trees are more important than people's safety.
Jerry Waters
Charleston
Capito's remarks about workers outrageous
Editor:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rep. Shelley Capito evidently took a page from the Romney playbook. You may recall Romney's write-off of 47 percent of Americans as "dependent upon government" and "victims." Capito wrote off 40 percent of coal miners and truck drivers as drug addicts.
Capito was among white-collar campaign donors at the University of Charleston's School of Pharmacy when her bias was revealed. Paul Nyden reported her saying: "Today, if you look at miners and truck drivers, four out of 10 of them cannot pass drug tests."
Where is she getting these insane figures? That outrageous claim was directed against men and women with extremely dangerous jobs. Capito's claim that four-in-10 are high on drugs, unable to pass tests and unfit for employment is an insult to every hard-working coal miner or truck driver in the state.
After months of flag-waving claims of a "War on Coal," after months of finger-pointing at the EPA and the Obama administration, after months of pandering from Capito's out-of-state handlers, we now see who the real Shelley Capito is: an enemy of the West Virginia miner.
Jamin S. Jones
Scott Depot
Larry Gibson fought MTR and won
Editor:
The welcome news that Patriot Coal is phasing out mountaintop removal mining is a long-awaited victory -- and much thanks goes to the quarter of a century that the late Larry Gibson, former president of the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, tirelessly spent opposing the practice that hurt so many people, polluting their waters, ruining their health and even causing floods that destroyed entire communities.
Supported by every friend of the environment, Gibson fought with great courage against MTR. At his home atop Kayford Mountain, he entertained and educated visitors from all over the world.
I accompanied Larry on many trips, and one especially endearing to me is the highly successful visit to Yale Law and Forestry Schools. Larry did not need a college degree hanging on his wall. His vast knowledge coupled with his intense compassion and dedication to the cause was so impressive that he successfully educated thousands of people about the devastating practice of MTR in a way that pricked their consciences and compelled them to join his crusade.
I know that every friend of the environment will gladly join me to say we honor Larry for his work which made his life a true profile in courage. Larry, you fought a good fight and you have won.
Ken Hechler
Charleston
Concerts didn't live up to billing
Editor:
I am an arts lover and Baby Boomer who attended the Gordon Lightfoot concert at the Clay Center Sept. 17. Having enjoyed his music for decades, I, along with hundreds of others, wanted to pay tribute to him and to recapture lovely memories which his songs engender. Although I didn't expect the same level of performance from his concert in Charleston in 1977, I was deeply disappointed.
From the time he took the stage until I felt compelled to leave at intermission, I experienced a gamut of emotions. They began with shock at his fragile appearance, to embarrassment at his extremely diminished vocal skills, to sadness that the picture of this evening will forever remain in my mind when I think of him.
Ironically, I had a somewhat similar experience at the last Dionne Warwick concert at the Clay Center. Another all-time favorite, she provided the audience a weakened, shortened performance, partially due to her "mature" voice which was exacerbated by her illness that evening.
In both cases, the audience was respectful, but I strongly believe that the cost of our tickets entitled us to more than was delivered. However, I don't begrudge the price which, I suppose, was a tribute to the hours of enjoyment their music has given me over the years.
So, the lesson I've learned is to save my money and to preserve my pleasurable memories, in the future I will be more selective in my choice of "baby boomer" concerts.
Linda Andresen
St. Albans
Tree-huggers make storms worse
Editor:
If there's one thing the last two storms taught us, it's that trees near power lines can cause hundreds or thousands to suffer needlessly. Most power outages are caused by trees falling over power lines.
I love trees as much as the next guy, but like people who own dogs or have children, tree owners are responsible for damage to neighbors when they refuse to allow trees to be trimmed back or cut down completely from power lines.
I'm sick of tree-huggers who go so far as to hire lawyers to prevent their offending trees to be trimmed, so that others in the area won't suffer during storms that otherwise might pass safely, had it not been for the tree-huggers.
It's one thing to love trees, quite another to endanger people with your attitude that trees are more important than people's safety.
Jerry Waters
Charleston
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