Wednesday, March 25, 1998

Unfair to rap Jones

A March 20 letter said George Jones only was on stage for one hour, had two band solos, two fiddle solos and an Elvis rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes." This is all quite true. But then again, I can't remember the last time I went to a concert and didn't hear one or more solos.

I was in the third row, and George didn't look like he was feeling very well. I don't know what it takes to put on a show like that, but I'm sure it takes a lot of energy to do it night after night. At 67 years old, I thought he did pretty well.

As for George coming back to Abilene, I don't think there will be a problem. George has so many fans here that I feel he will fill any structure he decides to rent. Some of us can still remember the days when we paid and saw nothing. George has come a long way from those days. I think George's support will always be there as long as he is alive. I know I will stand by him through good times and bad.

As for not being satisfied with the show, I can understand that. I was a bit disappointed with the amount of time we got to see and hear George. If a person would have brought up not being satisfied with the show, I bet he or she would have been able to get a refund. Then of course it is your choice not to go again. But to slam somebody without that person having a chance to defend himself is totally unfair.

I for one will stand up for George Jones - a country music legend whose shoes will certainly be hard to fill.

DAVE THERIAULT

Abilene

Poor audience

In contrast to March 20's "Playing 'possum," I extremely enjoyed the George Jones concert, as did the rest of my party. I would welcome a repeat performance that will never happen due to the poor audience welcome and response.

Although the accomplished country singing legend never missed a word or note during his performance, he received ho-hum applause with no standing ovation. His show was typical of stars such as Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire in which they feature band members and co-singers in their shows, and no one complains about that. Oh, yes, they dance around and have "Broadway show" performances in contrast to Jones, who apologizes for being older and short of breath.

Fans who attend any musical concerts expect to pay the going price rate, and $26 was not out of line. But the comical portrayal of Elvis with the crude lyric change was out of place. It was an attempt to lighten the concert, as were the remarks about Garth and Reba. (Jones did add he was kidding, and regardless, he does have the right to an opinion just as we do.)

My 26-year old-son has been a George Jones fan all his life. As he watched the legend in action, his faced just glowed with awe in actually seeing Jones in concert, as he felt George was truly "hotter than a $2 pistol."

JULIE LANPHERE

Hawley

Via e-mail

Credit and blame

The Clinton administration likes to take credit for our healthy, robust economy. "We balanced the budget," they boast.

Interesting. When the White House wants to evade responsibility for something bad it uses the passive voice - "Mistakes were made," not "I made a mistake" or "We made a mistake."

But when it wants to take credit for something good it suddenly shifts to the active voice: "We balanced the budget!"

Why don't we just put that boast in the passive voice: "The budget got balanced." That would be closer to the truth all around. It would be hard to prove who deserves the most credit for balancing the budget - Clinton, Greenspan, the Republican Congress or the average hard-working American citizen.

ARLIE J. HOOVER

Abilene

Via e-mail