My son has been a member of the International Churches of Christ for over three years, and after reading David Martin's article ["The Jesus Pyramid," May 10], a lot of things started to make sense.
My son failed college despite being a bright kid, never has any money despite having a full-time job, has gone through periods where he has been extremely thin without any explanation, and makes decisions regarding living arrangements that don't make sense -- like living in a cheap, rundown apartment near the church gathering place instead of moving in with his parents or to a property owned by his parents about 12 miles away from where he lives. He no longer goes to college, broke up with his girlfriend, and works outside of the town in which he lives.
I will be seeing him this weekend and probably asking a lot of questions. My biggest problem is the fact that he is 22 years old, and there is not much I can do to "deprogram him," legally speaking.
Name withheld upon request
Shaker Heights
One vote for trapping the coyote hunters
I was saddened to read that the city of Lorain plans to trap coyotes -- on one of the last tracts of open land in the area -- to make way for more urban sprawl ["Sprawl of the Wild," May 10]. That plan, and the comments of Lorain residents who said that the city would have to kill all of the coyotes for them to feel safe, illustrates a lot of things wrong about our culture.
Every year, people protest the hunt of deer in the Metroparks, but no one complains when the predators required to keep deer and other species healthy and safe from starvation are slaughtered. Meanwhile, open space is gobbled up so that people can live in even bigger houses, and our new administration informs us that we need more coal and nuclear plants to heat and cool our homes.
As your article pointed out, coyotes are much less dangerous than domestic dogs. Coyotes will kill only to feed themselves and their young, but dogs will kill deer, cats, and livestock indiscriminately. In this way, I guess our dogs are like us -- out of harmony with nature and unable to curb their impulse for destruction. In Solon, Lorain, and other communities mentioned in the article, the coyotes are not the problem. We are.
Mark Reichard
Cleveland Heights
Hayshaker Jones snaps over a snub
After checking out your 2001 Music Awards ballot [May 17], I have to congratulate you for the same old crap. Whose backside do you have to kiss to get nominated? I am in Hayshaker Jones, Cleveland's hardest-working and most energetic country band. In the last year, we have played at least three gigs per month. We have opened for BR5-49 and David Allan Coe. We are scheduled to play the Cleveland Rib Cook-Off, the Akron Rib Cook-Off, Thistledown, and the Fox 8 Morning Show. Our songs are currently played on WRUW and several alternative country radio shows around the country.
We are sorry that our band escaped your outdated view of Cleveland country. (Stacie Collins doesn't even live here.) Our fans know who we are, and that is what makes the difference. It's just sad that you guys are not a little more in tune with what's happening in this city.
Clint Holley
Lakewood
A Delirious fan turns furious
I resent the biased approach that Jeff Niesel took about the British Christian rock group Delirious in his Tune-Up blurb on April 26. He is amazed that "this stuff" (as he calls it) has found a "secular audience," since the group "specifically alludes to Jesus" and "pushes Christianity" in its lyrics.
Most rock groups "push" their agendas with lyrics drenched in cryptic messages and allusions to self-indulgence, sex, drugs, violence, satanism, and the occult, and blatantly use the F and MF words. So it's no wonder that rock critics and others don't know how to evaluate or respond to a group that is on the way up and whose songs have fantastic Jesus lyrics.
I wonder if Niesel actually went to Delirious's show on April 26 and experienced the group for himself. Quite different from a Pantera, Marilyn Manson, or Eminem concert, wouldn't you say?
Karin Brain
Cleveland
