A sixpack of condoms to go: Kudos to Maurizio's Pizza and Sports Café for offering such an innovative menu item and to the Riverfront Times for reporting the story [Mike Seely, "Rubbers Meet the Road," October 16]. In this day of AIDS, offering condoms to a "wild late-night crowd" makes damn good sense. Alcohol and drugs cloud judgment, and for those who are going to drink and fuck, it's wise to use condoms to make the experience safer. Mind you, I said safer, not safe.... To Maurizio's, "stay strapped," and make my next order a large veggie deluxe, a six-pack of Heineken and three Lifestyles Tuxedo black. Got lube?
Goddess Ochun
St. Louis
Joy to the World
When you're not being crude: Just want you to know that your choice of Bob Jamerson as "Best St. Louisan of 2002" was a stroke of genius ["Best of St. Louis," September 25]! One of the best things you've done in a long time and an example of one of the things you do best -- putting life in proper perspective, celebrating whimsy (when you're not being crude). As I listen to depressing news on my car radio, I see Bob, prancing in colorful garb, clearly a free spirit. I immediately turn off the radio to enjoy the moment. I can count on Bob to give me a smile and a laugh every morning. As he was quoted as saying, "It's all about joy."
Patti Teper
via the Internet
Baffling Image
Bad art, not bad intent: OK, I hate to beat a dead horse, but I'm truly baffled. I work with people of all races. I'm the mother of a triracial son and a Caucasian son. I get on the MetroLink in East St. Louis. I stared at the picture on the cover of the October 2 "Fail Safe" issue, and, honestly, can't see a person of a certain race ["Letters," October 9]. Maybe I just have bad eyes. Can someone tell me how is this an African-American male? It looks like a crappy drawing by an artist wannabe.
Sonja Caldwell
Columbia, Illinois
Italian Menu
A side order of abuse: I've frequented Café Napoli many times before on trips to St. Louis and have never had a bad meal [Melissa Martin, "Italian for Beginners," October 16]. The owner treats me as an everyday patron, always cheerful and asking how things are going. It seems to me that Melissa Martin has a personal problem with Cafe Napoli that, frankly, I don't want to read about. Never in my 47 years have I read an article that abusive. I think that you should seriously think about Martin's unprofessional approach.
Todd Katz
via the Internet
Faulty Wiring
Is Paris burning? Thank you for the coverage of Emerson [Geri L. Dreiling, "Remember Paris," October 16]. It was absolutely a fantastic piece of journalism. I have been there a little over 27 years and have seen and experienced firsthand their deceitful ways. It has been a real pleasure for someone to finally print the truth about Emerson. All they ever have shown us are clippings from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about how well they're doing -- as always, propaganda. Thank you so much for this article. I think it deserves a Pulitzer.
Ronnie Webb
Paris, Tennessee
Round One
The president wears boxers: It is not un-American to question the president [Wm. Stage, "Street Talk," October 16]. I love this country. I love this planet. But let's put our brains in gear. The way I see it, if Bush doesn't like Saddam and Saddam doesn't like Bush, why don't they settle it like men, get in a ring and duke it out? We can put it on pay-per-view! What do we have to do with it?
Jason Catalano
New York City
Time-Warped
He's tuned out: I had the same reaction to The Rocky Horror Picture Show a year or two ago -- I was doing laundry or ironing and had the cable TV on in the next room, and, listening to the songs from the movie, I suddenly realized, as they say, "There is no there, there." Without the visual elements, the songs become quite forgettable.
Richard Green
via the Internet
It's timeless for us geezers: Dennis Brown's critique of New Line Theatre's current production, The Rocky Horror Show ["Chain Reaction, October 16], misses the whole point, at least for me, of the fun of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I am not sure we saw the same production [and] surely don't come from the same viewing perspective. [To me], the show's music still is crisp, fresh, and well composed. The storyline might cover old territory and the show might not have the same shock value it did as a movie or theatrical production when first released, but it's a farce to intimate that the production is ordinary and the lyrics and dialog mundane. I thought Scott Miller's staging of this timeless [classic] -- yes, timeless, at least for us thirty- and fortysomethings -- was nothing less than spectacular. As is typically the case for New Line, the actors were all well cast. This production is outrageous, audacious and lots of fun. Best of all, it had [the] time-warp value [of] watching old Woodstock footage, attending a family or school reunion or going to a Who, Yes or Beach Boys concert.
Tim Boyle
President, Space for the Arts
St. Louis
