Column helped dog
On the evening of May 6, Brenda and I let our three dogs out to do their duty before coming in for the night. When we opened the door for them to come in, only two reappeared. Our adopted doxie mix, Allie, was missing.
We found her outside unable to use her hind legs. I carried her to my room and let her sleep with me, hoping she would be OK in the morning. However, Sunday morning she was the same. Calls were made to get an appointment with an emergency vet. We fully expected her to be euthanized when we saw the vet later that day.
Shortly after making the appointment, Brenda shouted that I needed to read Philip Martin's column "The grande dame and the punk." Philip mentioned the use of prednisone, which helped his Paris within a few hours. I had been prescribed 5mg prednisone months earlier for my back and failed to take all of them. We gave Allie one tablet and, before we were scheduled to leave for the vet, she began getting up on her hind legs and taking a few steps. We immediately canceled the vet appointment.
Now, we continue to see improvement in mobility and quality of life. Brenda and I want to thank Philip for his column about his Paris. Our beloved Allie is still alive because of it.
KENNETH WEBER
Hot Springs Village
Good old memories
I was pleased to see Al Topich mention growing up in Searcy and the Rialto Theater. I also grew up in White County. but in the early 1950s when the Rialto was the go-to movie house for Technicolor extravaganzas. What I remember most were the 3D movies that were showing there. When you walked into the movie house they gave you glasses made of cardboard, and you saw a spectacular event on screen that impressed all ages, but especially teenagers.
Growing up in northern Arkansas at that time was just a great experience. Beyond the movie houses, there was tremendous popular radio from Memphis at the time rock 'n' roll was emerging. Then we got to go to Little Rock and stay at the Lafayette Hotel for a state Beta Club convention at a time when downtown Little Rock had all of the important good retail establishments. Football was king on Friday night, and all of the families gathered in the stands to watch their kids play the game.
It is great to be reminded of those times once again.
THOMAS ALSTON
Texarkana
Do right thing: Test
It's been bugging me that Attorney General Tim Griffin and the rest of those involved in the West Memphis Three case are so opposed to DNA testing on new evidence that supposedly has been found in the case.
I know there's all the stuff about how they took an Alford plea, they are not currently in jail, etc. I'm not a lawyer; I don't know all the details or the law. But is there something else going on here? Why are they so afraid to do a test which may reveal who the real killer is after all these years? What are they hiding or who are they protecting? Was it a botched investigation, a rush to judgment? Has there been a killer, or killers, walking free for decades?
There may be a tangle of laws involved, but there's a higher moral question here, in my opinion. DNA has proven hundreds of people who were convicted of crimes were actually innocent. I find it hard to believe that the boys, now men, who were convicted of these murders would want this new evidence tested if they were actually guilty.
It's time to solve this crime once and for all for the benefit of the victims, their families and these accused men and our state. Do the right thing and get this DNA testing done.
JOYCE WILLIAMS
North Little Rock
Horrifying news item
An article in your Sunday edition has me really seeing red. It concerns a 95-year-old Australian woman who was accosted with a taser by local police.
The woman, a resident of a facility for the elderly, has dementia and requires a walker for mobility. This unfortunate lady was agitated and was holding a kitchen knife and approaching the officers very slowly. Some member of Australia's finest then made the decision to employ the taser, causing her to fall and hit her head. The woman is not expected to survive.
In what kind of reality does this make sense? The police officers could have easily just stepped out of her way. This describes a whole new level of police brutality. I don't know anything about Australian law, but if I were her relatives I would sue them for the maximum amount allowed. Truly horrifying and shocking!
CATHERINE LAMB
Little Rock
Careful with wishes
Do the Republicans really want to ban books?? Do these fantastic scholars of literature want to ban all these books?
What is the most famous book they should ban according to their thinking? The Bible ... Sodom and Gomorrah ... Cain killing Abel ... they crucified Jesus.
BOB MASSERY
Little Rock