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m KSWMSE9 C contact us at p.o. box ioxt, Athens, ga sogos or mailcelagrole.com ■E E f ErlC9 LETTERS MAY BE EDBTED FOR STYLE, CLARITY AND SPACE CONSIDERATIONS TOO MANY WORDS 1 have been reading your paper for many years now. In general, I feel it is of very high quality. I find many uses for it. However, lately I have begun to feel as though the quality is slipping somewhat. There are just too many words in it. I like my newsprint not to soil my fingers when I read it. But more importantly, I don’t like newsprint soiling my fish. Please, use better ink if you are insistent on putting so many words in your articles. Thank you. Bob Uzmekitoula Winder FLUSHING BAXTER I’d like to comment on two of your recent cover stories and, perhaps, I can link them together. The two themes were “bike lanes to nowhere" [ City Pages, June 7] and “the flush truck flushes" [City Pages, July 5]. Almost one year ago, I spoke out at a city council meeting against the three-laning of Baxter Street. I made it very clear that I was not opposed to bike lanes or bikers’ rights but that without real infrastructure, improve ments to the bike lanes were a joke. In fact. I warned that these bike lanes were just a bone tossed to bike activists to quiet them down for awhile. The bike lanes never planned to be continuous with lower Baxter or the even more narrow streets like Lumpkin, Milledge or Broad. But if Baxter was to be the first with bike lanes, I requested publicly that a bike cop be pro vided as well as a few bike racks, etc. Makes sense, huh? No way. The real plan seems to have been a cheap paint job to slow’ down traffic volume at the expense of all the tax paying businesses that have been neglected for over 20 years. So Mr. Verrastro, in his editorial letter [Letters, July 5), should not be so surprised at the miserable condi tion he finds the bike lanes to be in. You see, all the money flows dow’ntown and that bi ings me to the second item, the flush truck. The sequence of events seems to be the following; downtown bars and restaurants are enjoying an excess of business; this results in excess garbage, stale beer and vomit; some people complain; and ACC pro vides additional garbage pickups and a $91,000 flush truck. And, of course, we have the consequence of where the flush flushes. On Baxter, we don’t have such problems- we have to pick up most of the garbage our selves, since even the ACC garbage bins by the ber.chless bus stops are often neglected for weeks on end. Now, in case you might think that I have only a narrow, slanted opinion, please con sider the following idea. Suppose our Commissioners had proposed the three- laning of Broad Street from Milledge to Pulaski. This stretch of road is actually three feet narrower than Baxter and certainly would see more bicycle traffic. Honestly, do you think the city could have railroaded the Downtown Development Authority or the downtown merchants into accepting a ’harmless’ reduction of one traffic lane? And from a pure safety point of view, why wasn’t Lumpkin the first three-lane experiment since it is actually 11 feet narrower than Baxter? Sander Heilig Athens KNICKS NIXES HICKISH 1 would like just a moment to respond to a recent letter in your fine publication from a Miss Hickish [Letters. July 5]. Miss Hickish, you closed a recent letter to the Flagpole by saying “there doesn’t seem to be any way to reassure them that I am no threat to them even if 1 do drive an SUV." Your “them" were two kids that worked in a video store, and by the way, you sounded, if you read through the lines of your lett2r, [like they] led a life that you miss! And guess what! You are the enemy! I personally don’t know you. but I do know your kind. You drive your big ol’ SUVs. You live in your plastic sub-division, built by illegal immigrants who are lucky to make five bucks an hour. Your plastic house is filled with plastic crap and made by slave children in other countries who may make a nickel a day. You have to have instant service wher ever you go “no time for waiting, we got to get junior to soccer practice." You smoked enough dope and drank enough booze back in your day to stun a wino, but now you're for zero tolerance where kids go to boot camp or prison for a bag of pot and some times don’t make it out (alive that is). So instead of complaining about your ter rible service at the video store, why not complain about the terrible service we get from our worthless politicians. Oh, I forgot, you’re the type who elected the bastards and will again! I’m sure you didn't plan this type of response when you wrote the Flagpole. Well, I’m sure the pierced face deviants didn't expect it from you when you rented the trendy new flick from them. My suggestion Miss Hickish and all those like you: Bum your SUV, collect the insurance money, donate it to some radical organiza tion and let your “freak flag" fly again and maybe this country will not be the place of alienation it is now! Re-legalize. Mark Knicks Jefferson GREEN MAIN ENW I would like to issue an apology to the band Planet Jive and their road crew for W.D. Hellhound's (or whatever his/her real name is...) incredibly rude, self-absorbed, incon siderate letter [Letters, July 5]. While I have seen and expect varying degrees of rudeness by letter writers before, 1 believe the arro gance toward these local boys was unwar ranted (and a sign of deep insecurity...). Although I was not at AthFest for Bill Mallonee’s performance, and therefore cannot comment on the specific issue Hellhound has, I can comment on the count less other encounters I’ve had with Planet Jive. I have enjoyed several memorable, enthusiastic, colorful performances. I have known these guys to give back to the com munity through their generous and sincere support of several charitable benefit perfor mances. I also think they are fai from a “rehashed, post disco, “white boys got the woo-woos," groove funk rip-off. What they have is FUN!!! Perhaps you are just jealous of that green hair! LOSER! George Montgomery Athens THIS VMW by TOM TOMORROW Sure. The Patriot' takes some liberties with histori cal accuracy--but it it inspires an interest in American history, what's the harm in it? In tact, il there are any movie producers reading this cartoon, we'd like to pitch an idea ot our own--the story of Alexis ' Fightin' A I' - deTocqucville and his journey through... TWO-FISTED DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA! YOU SEE, FIGHTIN' AL—WHOSE BlAnce to KEANU REEVES OFTEN BEEN NOTED— SPENT IQ STUDYING OUR NASCENT Df.MOCf --AND THERE'S CERTAINLY no REASON hE COULDNT have STOPPED SOMEWHERE ALONG the WAT TO have A TORRID AFFAIR WITH A YOUNG WOMAN BEARING A striking SIMILARITY to REBECCA RoMUN-STAMoS: “IF ANYONE ASKS ME WHAT X THINK IS THE CHIEF CAUSE OF THE EXTRAORDINARY PROSPERITY AND GROW ING POWER OF THIS NATION, X SHOULD ANSWER THAT IT IS DUE TO THE SUPERIORITY OF THEIR WOMEN*"* wrt* x raiMU of COORJC muu AM Jvm MA*u WOIS CAM.* MASTS*. BWAH HA HA.* THEY'LL PAY MY RANSOM--OR I SHALL ACTIVATE MY INFERNAL DEMOCRACY DESTROYER'. UM, SURE WHATEVER. "X KNOW OF NO OTHER COUNTRY WHERE LOVE OF MONEY HAS SUCH A GRIP ON MEN'S HEARTS.'" HE INTERVIEWED PRESIDENTS, LAWYERS, BANKERS AND SETTLERS...BUT THE WAY WE FIGURE IT, MOST OF HIS TIME WAS PROBABLY SPENT TRYING TO SAVE THE COUNTRY FROM THE EVIL PLANS Of A DIABOLICAL MADMEN WHO LOOKED uncannily LIKE GARY OLDMAN— * —A BATTLE WHOSE MANY TWISTS AND TURNS LIKELY INVOLVED BREATHTAKING CHASE SCENES—ON HORSES, sure, but FAST horses—And A stunning climax ATOP THE VERY CAPITOL of THE NATION BY WHICH HE WAS so FASCINATED... ‘When great perils threaten the sta’E, the people OFTEN MAKE A HAPPY CHOICE OF THOSE CITIZENS BEST SUITED TO SAVE nr CURSE YOU, FIGHTIN' AL D£ TOCQUEVILLE* So how 'bout It, Hollywood? Have your people call our people-and we'll do lunch-or they will-or something., Lisa Elizabeth Alder MT, CYT, CCT 22 Years Exferience Healing with Colour and Lijht * Massage Therafy Clairvoyant headings • Yoga Teacher By Affiintmeht (706) 5+9-8999 *thtn*(a)ne§i*. net From: ATHEr j S ATHENS: Super Mcdo. 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