LEO Weekly welcomes letters that are brief (350 words max) and thoughtful. ?Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to Inbox, 301 E. Main St., Suite 201, Louisville, KY 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or email to [email protected]. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity.
For whom did you vote?
In the Nov. 12 issue, Steve Shaw’s response to the “For whom did you vote?” question [posed to Alison Lundergan Grimes] is great. May I offer another response? One that speaks truth?
“That question is an invasion of my privacy. However, I will answer it. I voted for the best candidate on the ballot. I voted for Barack Obama.”
Optional words of conclusion: “Unfortunately, the Republicans blocked his initiatives and held Congress in gridlock for eight years. Partisan power took the place of democracy and the constitution using tactics that border on treason.”
Maie Klaphaak, Highlands
Response to ‘Louisville Runners’
I disagree with D.R’s thesis [in the Nov. 12 Inbox letter] on every point except two. Yes, cars kill. People who wish to travel on foot faster than a walk are a crazy bunch.
I’ve noticed an increase of this type of activity over the last 10 years. It seems these people all have one thing in common. These individuals are all plugged into some kind or another of electronic device with earbuds. Separated from the environment, they have no situational awareness. I’ve seen runners disregard all manner of traffic control devices and stop signs, displaying no common sense. I see them darting from between parked autos onto the roadways from the sidewalk, not breaking stride, as if their lives had no value. It’s a wonder more aren’t fender fodder. They are disrespectful, more than rude, and too often run through groups of people outside restaurants, bulling their way through wait staff and patrons at sidewalk tables as if they owned, not shared, this space. When coming up from behind you, they never announce their presence. I’d call that wanton endangerment.
D.R. uses the word “runners” to describe this activity. I always thought runners were snags in hosiery or carpets that went up staircases, or perhaps people fleeing the police. Joggers seems to be a more adept term for this recreation. Marathoners seems to be the correct term for those training for an athletic competition. Given the intensity of the training, isn’t it prudent to run on a closed track? Those choosing to run on rural roads barely ever run in single file, and most often run with traffic rather than opposed. This too is a hazard.
One day, when they wake up and find their feet are as wide as pancakes, when their metacarpals grind and their knees click, and their doctor says “hip replacement,” they’ll wish they’d taken up swimming. For them, I say, “Be healthy, be happy and never infringe on another.” Run with opposing traffic so autos can see you and you can see them. Stay off the sidewalks. The word is not “sideruns.”
Rich Givan, Crescent Hill
Ebola Panic
Great Editor’s Note on Ebola and the local Catholic school in the last LEO. I’m an octogenarian and retired teacher who taught those in my charge: Science is based on what we observe. Faith is often the denial of what is observed so belief can be preserved.
Bob Moore, East End
