Readers have scorn for Carnahan and Clay — but thrill to the Children of Sunshine

Apr 28, 2011 at 4:00 am

DAILY RFT, APRIL 19, 2011
CARNAHAN V. CLAY
Good riddance: God deliver us from the village idiot hayseed from Rolla ["Russ Carnahan to Lacy Clay: 'Screw' You," Chad Garrison]. He's about as wholesome as a dead puppy in a pet-store window. I wanna puke every time I see him on TV. He always looks like he's stoned, and when he speaks he's a cross between Tiny Tim and Janet Reno. Thankfully, it does appear he will be without a district and never elected again.
Kitty, via the Internet

DAILY RFT, APRIL 19, 2011
A FROST TOWARD NIXON
Compromise is no "solution": This governor is no better than the money-grubbing puppy millers he supports ["Governor Nixon Caves to Dog Breeders; 'Missouri Solution' Weakens Prop B," Chad Garrison]. I hope the Missouri people will him out of office, along with the state representative whose mommy owns one of the worst mills in Missouri.

What happened to the voice of the people
Gina_allaboutlabs, via the Internet

If you lie down with dogs: Why would Democrats continue to vote for this guy? He is an embarrassment to Missouri. We might as well have a Republican governor. At least you know who to blame that way!

I know I won't be showing up to vote for Nixon next election. If he had half a brain, he would look at the numbers from the last election. Prop B got more votes than Robin Carnahan got in her bid for the Senate. That tells me the way to get the crossover vote is to stand with the dogs. As it is, Nixon is standing with the scumbags.
Joyward, via the Internet

FEATURE, APRIL 14, 2011
LET THE SUNSHINE IN
Dandelion days: When I saw this in my RFT RSS feed, my eyes flew open wide ["Good Day, Sunshine," Mike Appelstein]! Thanks for bringing this story back from the distant past.

I was a College School student at the time and remember Thérèse and Kitsy well. I also remember Jim Curran. He helped me and a couple of other guys (Jesse Cox and Steve Martin) form a band, though I don't think we had a name. It was one of my earliest organized musical experiences, and it had a profound effect on me. In fact, I've been at it ever since.
Ted Rubright, via the Internet

The R.E.M. connection: You did a great job (and a great service), Mike. I've been wanting to write the same story myself, and I might have done it if I hadn't transitioned from a rock critic to a movie critic. I found a copy of Dandelions at a thrift store on Cherokee Street in 1984, when I was the editor of the local fanzine Jet Lag. I've been telling people about it for more than a quarter century.

After I moved to LA in the late '80s to work for the music magazine Cashbox I played and copied the album for members of R.E.M. and the Posies, so I know the word started spreading through the American indie-rock community a decade before the estimable Chuck Warner accelerated it. Now I'm back in St. Louis and writing movie reviews for the Post-Dispatch, but I still treasure the album, and I hope to give a glowing review to the inevitable movie about Dandelions.
Joe Williams, via the Internet

He was there: Great article. You captured the enthusiasm and originality of the album and of the girls. I know because I was there. The dandelion field is the front lawn of Webster Hall at Webster University. I still have the outtake photos. I also have photos of Tres and Kitsy at their first school concert prepping to go "public." Those were fun times.

I am not lost. I live in Chesterfield, and I will contact Kitsy tomorrow.
Jim Curran, via the Internet

A happy ending: Just read the article today and just read the "reunion" comments. Just fabulous — I am getting tingles all over. Enjoy the new ride, folks!
Stlouisdan, via the Internet