Letters From OC Weekly Readers

‘No Offense to Kendall or Anything Like That, But I Have No Interest in Eating Her’

Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to letters@ocweekly.com, or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.

MERRY MARY
I have known Mary Jo Frawley for more than 30 years, and she has always been humble [Daffodil J. Altan’s “Good Medicine,” Dec. 5]. I have learned so many life lessons from this dear friend. She is so loved, and I just hope she knows it. When the Tea Fire broke out here, she used the same compassion that she uses in her international work. Mary Jo does not discriminate as to whose problem is bigger—everyone is as important to her as her friend.

Terri King, Santa Barbara, via ocweekly.com

CUTTING CLASS
School Police Department? Building Inspectors?

Why does this financially strapped [Santa Ana Unified] school district need these things [Daffodil J. Altan’s “Renovation Under the Radar,” Dec. 5] ? Doesn’t the city of SanTana already have people on the public payroll to do these jobs?

They hired another assistant superintendent? How many of these overpaid paper pushers do they need? Maybe it is time to cut the fat at the management level.

El Gringo, via ocweekly.com

What’s the big deal? Are these comments by the losers of the election? They must be because the voters approved the job Jane Russo and Cathie Olsky are doing, running the district into the ground. Spend, spend, spend, cut, cut, cut. We don’t care! We gave the district a big stamp of approval on Nov. 4 by re-electing the incumbents. Quitcherbellyachin!

Anonymous, Huntington Beach, via ocweekly.com

PAT ALL OVER THE PLACE
Thanks for your cover story on musician Pat Visel [Vickie Chang’s “Secret Stash,” Nov. 28] . I remember Pat when he played basketball for (now-defunct) Newport Christian High School and worked on the Balboa Ferry. If he’s living on Balboa Island and playing his own music at 35, I’d say he’s had a pretty good measure of success already.

Tom Chambers, Huntington Beach

I know the guy, and amazingly, he makes music at night and balances numbers in the daytime. Hopefully, he can find the idyllic setting to combine his CPA skills and recording lyrics.

NumberCruncher, Newport Beach, via ocweekly.com

LIKES
I just wanted to thank Rex Reason for the article “Folks Like Us” [Aural Reports, Oct. 24]. I thought it was very well-written and did a good job of capturing what I do musically.

Cory Case, via e-mail

HUNGRY EYES
No offense to Kendall [the woman featured in the photo for Edwin Goei’s “‘This Isn’t Chicken,’” Dec. 5] or anything like that, but I have no interest in eating her.

The OC Weekly’s food articles seem to feature people in the pictures rather than the food. I wouldn’t mind the people with the food so long as you can really see details of it. Especially in this article, for which people like me are curious as hell about how the Veggie Grill can make non-meat products “tasty and visually appealing.”

Diamond Dog, via ocweekly.com

ANSWERING THE MEXICAN’S LETTERS
What the hell did you, Bourbon Bobby, do to earn your U.S. citizenship [Gustavo Arellano’s ¡Ask a Mexican! Dec. 5]?

Nothing. You were born with it.

But perhaps you’re right. We natural-born citizens probably do take our freedoms and prosperity for granted. And perhaps that partly explains what a broken society we have today. Maybe every person should have to “earn” his or her citizenship and right to vote through public service and demonstrated knowledge of our history and government.

Immigration is what has always made this country great, and our own insecurity of competition from hard-working immigrants and fear of the terrorist bogeyman will ultimately be our downfall.

Regardless, you ought not to have ?such a self-righteous attitude and learn some U.S. history.

Anonymous, via ocweekly.com

Bourbon Bobby has some valid comments, but the only people who can call it “our country” are the Native Americans. The rest of us are scabs, gabachos or wabs. As for anyone adding to culture, it seems to me we have become a culture of greedy, TV-watching, money-loving assholes with no regard for our future or environment. The strip mall rules, my SUV is bigger than your SUV, Taco Bell is Mexican food, and Spongebob is on a piñata. . . . Oh, sure, some culture exists, but it’s getting harder to see through the smog.

CB, Riverside, via ocweekly.com

The beauty of the Reconquista, dear Bourbon, is that Mexicans don’t care a bit what you personally think.

Francisco Blancas, Tijuana, Mexico, via ocweekly.com

CALENDAR EDITOR WANTED
OC Weekly needs an editor for the Calendar section. The ideal candidate will have at least three years of journalistic experience, a distinctive voice, an eye for detail and broad cultural interests. The Calendar Editor will oversee the print section, write/edit the online calendar and listings, and report on the local arts scene. This is a full-time staff position with benefits. The interview process will include a test. Interested candidates should send a cover letter, a résumé and clips to Ted B. Kissell, Editor, OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or e-mail tkissell@ocweekly.com.