Letters

In remembrance
Thank you, Peter Elkind, for the story on Brian Keith Thomas ["The forgotten man," October 12].

I grew up in Richardson, graduating from Richardson High School. My husband is a former RISD English teacher. I grew up respecting J.J. Pearce. I still respect him, but...

Ever since hearing of that accident, it has bothered me about the other victim. I, too, read the Morning News articles. I did hear one more reference to the accident. WFAA, in its evening newscast, did refer to the fact that Dr. Pearce caused the accident by failing to yield to Mr. Thomas' car.

My sympathies go to Mr. Thomas' family. The death was a tragedy; the "sweeping under the carpet" by the media because of Dr. Pearce's celebrity was another.

Thomas family, I'm glad that, in some small way, I have gotten to know your son.

Karen Rice
Garland

Peter Elkind's story on the deaths of Brian Keith Thomas and J.J. Pearce should move and sadden us all. Every day I commute to work in this city...every day I see things happen that are similar to what caused the deaths of these men. Everybody is in a hurry to get where they are going, and they want to make sure you know: 1. Their destination is more important than yours; and 2. They'll run over you to get there.

Brian's father put it best: "...if he had just waited a few seconds, both of 'em would still be here..." Is your impatience and your destination more important than someone else's life? I doubt J.J. Pearce would agree now, although he didn't then. What a stupid waste of life. We should all slow down and think about it.

Jennifer Borders
Dallas

Heavy D
You know, if Dan Peavy ["Lest we forget the s.o.b.," October 12] was black, he'd simply be considered a gangsta rapper.

Mike McGee
Dallas

Authentic voice
The first time I read one of James Mardis' film reviews in the Dallas Observer, I could not help feeling the urge to applaud after every paragraph. Unlike most film critics, he did not echo the same old clichŽs about "life in the 'hood" and "the black experience." His views were more complicated than that. Nor did he fail to give credit where credit was due.

As a result, his film review was easily one of the most memorable I had ever read in the Observer. And his subsequent work has been such that even Matt Zoller Seitz's most thoughtful work frequently seems like a disappointment by comparison. Unlike many well-meaning liberals, James Mardis does not applaud lazy filmmakers who are more interested in catering to the "white guilt/gangsta chic" crowd than in depicting people of non-European descent in a relatively honest and realistic fashion. And his most recent film review proves it ["Menace II logic," October 12].

My one regret about his work for the Observer is that it does not appear more often.

Rogelio Mendoza, Jr.
Irving

The kindest cut
For some time now, I have enjoyed reading your paper simply because you print so many stories on topics The Dallas Morning News won't touch. Nearly every issue has at least one story that is reported on in great detail. And that is where I want to make one brief comment.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do something about the extreme length of those stories. I realize detail is necessary, but wordiness is a killer! Please see this as constructive criticism, and not as a stab at any of your reporters. I really do appreciate their thoroughness.

David Poisel
Dallas