Cafe Owner’s Memory Deserves Better; Back Page Spoke the Truth; Heroes Are Not Forgotten; Marsalis Misses the Point

Letters

Cafe Owner’s Memory Deserves Better

I was very disappointed with your flippant remarks about Cafe 21 in the Oct. 30 Tastemakers. My late sister Carol was a founder and longtime owner of Cafe 21 as a neighborhood watering hole with vending games when that was a fine thing to be. “Ms. Cafe” never pretended her business to be anything else.

Her news obituary of June 2000 highlighted her strong work ethic at the cafe, as well as her many good deeds on behalf of loyal customers. Even now, members of my family meet people who knew Carol through the cafe and have kind things to say about her. “Delinquent requiem,” indeed.

Rather than incorporating a cowardly attack on a deceased person’s career in your introduction to Cafe Diem, you should be applauding Mr. Arthur for his efforts at that venerable spot.

Perhaps a more uplifting take on this transition is suggested by a quotation from Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King” that happens to have been printed on the last page of Carol’s 1963 “Monticello,” Thomas Jefferson High School’s yearbook: “The old order changeth, yielding place to new … and the new sun rose bringing the new year.” – David S. Feibish

I take exception to the negative comments about Cafe 21. Cafe 21 was frequented by many regulars including rednecks, pool players, professionals, students, etc., who will never forget it. The former owner, Carol Taylor, will never be forgotten. She owned and managed Cafe 21 with grace, style and class — which is obviously lacking from the writer of this article. Carol Taylor was a lovely person who cared about her customers regardless of their social status. – Tracy H. Jacob

Back Page Spoke the Truth

“Islam’s Shadow” by Esther Nelson was the finest Back Page I have read. Fundamentalists — Muslim or Christian — who carry out suicide missions or bomb abortion clinics don’t just believe in God. They think they are God. – Juanita B. White

Marsalis Misses the Point

Wynton Marsalis is without a doubt one of the most talented musicians and a very keen historian on jazz history (“Lead Trumpet,” Arts & Culture, Oct. 30). But unfortunately, his views concerning the jazz period dating from the mid-’60s to the ’70s fusion period are way off the mark.

Everyone is welcome to have an opinion; the problem with Wynton’s opinion is that with his influence on students and the industry, his words are usually held up as gospel. How can any musician in his right mind dismiss the creative influence of an Ornette Coleman or put down the music of the Art Ensemble of Chicago or the late period of John Coltrane?

Wynton is very talented and makes a lot of money for Lincoln Center and Sony, but as far as the avant-garde is concerned he comes across as more of a ’40s revivalist than someone who is supposedly taking jazz into the 21st century.- D. Lynn Davenport

Heroes Are Not Forgotten

I found “Remembering Heroes” (Nov. 6) interesting and wanted to provide you with additional information regarding the location of Richmond’s war memorials.

When Richmond Memorial Hospital relocated, the Memorial Plaques found a new home at Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Hanover. These unique Swedish marble tablets stand proudly in the beautiful Memorial Courtyard as a monument to the 984 sons and daughters from the Richmond area who gave their lives during the Second World War. The plaques were relocated through a generous donation from the Richmond Memorial Foundation. Often visitors can be seen viewing the names of loved ones, neighbors and friends. The courtyard includes memorials to honor those who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Our chapel, located within the courtyard, also prominently displays a Book of Memory. The pages of this book are hand-lettered with names of those who died in World War II. Each day, two volunteers ceremoniously turn a page of the Book to pay special tribute to those people whose names are recorded on the page. The monuments are a living reminder to revere the memory of all those who died that freedom might live. – Sister Marie Kerns, RSM, Chaplain

Editor’s Note: The Book of Memory was featured in Style’s Sept. 24 Word & Image feature.

Thanks for the Pagan News

A friend gave me the article “Charmed Life” (Oct. 30). Thank you so much for doing the article! It’s refreshing to see something like this in a paper as well read as Style Weekly.

Becky Jackson

Editor’s Note: The pagan shop described in the article, The World Tree, is at 606 N. Sheppard St.

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