Reader Correspondence April 2022

To the Editor:

As per your editorial [How Are You?, March 2022], both my wife and I are fine. Thanks for asking. I was a history teacher, so I know we Americans have had even more hostile times of major division in our past, but living through one, while interesting, isn’t the entertainment I expected it might be. But it does make clear why “May you live in interesting times” is an old Chinese curse. (My own joke for it is, “This is why a kind and loving God has given us alcohol.”) Thanks for doing your Sisyphean gig, and remember that inside every silver lining is a dark cloud.

But smile anyway.

Schaen Fox
Lawrenceville NJ

To the Editor:

Since you asked in the latest TST, “How are YOU doing?,” I figured I’d let you know.

We are doing really really well. Especially after having spent a glorious weekend at the Jazz Bash by the Bay in Monterey CA.

A highlight was being able to personally thank Jeff Barnhart for his piece in the March TST, “Freddy.” Each of us has had someone in our life like Freddy, and his story brought back one or two from my childhood.

All of the music was terrific. And among the best sets were the two Lu Watters salute sets, put on by an amazing collection of musicians that included Clint Baker, Jeff, Marc Caparone, Hal Smith, Paul Hagglund, Riley Baker, Nathan Tokugawa, and Katie Cavera. Katie had told me ahead of time that they would be playing from Watters’ original charts, and I replied, “Of course … Hal and Clint organized them all for the Stanford University Library!”

It was also great to chat with John Royen, and hear him in various groups. I hope they invite him back next year, and many years after that.

And that’s not the only reason we’re going really well. There are plenty of others. We hope this email finds you doing well, as well.

Rob Sawyer
Sacramento CA

To the Editor:

I just read your gentle sage column in TST and I hope others do—my answer is, “As well as can be expected.” Stupidity flourishes, but so do compassion and hope. The ratio, I fear, depends on which state you live in—and I mean metaphysical as well as which of the 50. But we’re HERE . . . a million Americans and six million worldwide have died of Covid, the Times told me the other morning, but viruses work the way they do, and I fear that even if we had a very erudite population, all of them with their ideologies pointed towards the common good, we would have had some deaths.

This is just to say THANK YOU for many things, and to point out that someone who has met you in person does not think you have “the appearance of a genial idiot.” Genial, yes.

Michael Steinman
JAZZ LIVES
Great Neck NY