Thursday, April 2, 1998

Truly listening

My husband I were transferred to Dallas from Abilene in January 1995. When we moved, I was wary about leaving an area I had grown up in. The hospitality in West Texas is the best.

But I was concerned about that "Great West Texas Hospitality" when a friend from Abilene sent us the March 20 Opinion Page.

My husband and I were at the George Jones concert and were both more than pleased with the evening. We both felt the three-hour drive and the $26 ticket price were well worth it. I was thrilled to see a concert that was reminiscent of the concerts of the '50s and early '60s, where several different entertainers are able to showcase their talents.

The Elvis impersonation was a humorous diversion, not an insult. Jones' remarks toward Reba and Garth were meant in jest. I agree with him about the lack of radio airplay of many country standards. It is disheartening to know that in order to hear good, classic country music, you have to turn to an AM station.

New country performers use lights, smoke and acrobatics to keep their audience spellbound, and it is quite a show. But I enjoyed listening to an entertainer, truly listening, to a brilliant entertainer sing his songs.

The writer of "Playing 'possum" should really not compare songs with pre-recorded instruments to the music of a man who has more than earned his standing as a country legend.

MONIQUE LANPHERE

The Colony

Via e-mail

Shaping our youth

We've heard it a thousand times if we've heard it once. Our children are the future. These are the nation's next leaders, next public figures, the next world changers.

Question is, are they going to change it for the better or for the worse? Not to capitalize on others pain, but this most recent incident in Jonesboro, Ark., is a prime example of a way that our nation is changing.

Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, said it best: "More teachers, more money, more security forces, taller fences, and better school programming could not have stopped what happened here. This has to do with what was in these boys' hearts."

Do you remember way back when (before prayer was taken out of school), if you went out with your friends your parents told you to be good, and even if you weren't good, you at least knew the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. Now, not only are our youths not being good, but they don't know what good is.

It is a fact that the majority of our nation's rules and laws not only have their origins in the Bible but also use it as their standard. Now if we remove that standard from our children's educational institutions, how can we expect them to abide by our nation's laws?

So what are we as molders and shapers of the next generation putting into their hearts?

MITCH WILLIAMS

Abilene

Via e-mail

Down with the ship

My wife and I were, I believe, the two last people in America to see the movie, "Titanic." If I didn't know better, I'd think I saw a "bootleg" copy of the original being shown at the theater. The sound quality just ruined the entire experience.

After informing the people who work there, I was told it has just been shown too many times. From now on I guess we will be going to the Mall to see movies or wait until video.

STEVE REEVES

Abilene

Via e-mail