A Musician
and More
John Trubee (“Music at the Margins,”
Nov. 18) is a wonderful, crazy guy whom I met first in the mid-1970s when he was a teenager. He performed at the Avant Garde Festival in Trenton, N.J., and slowly grew into one of the most interesting and quirky musicians I’ve ever known. And he is more than “just” an unknown musician. He donated a kidney. He recorded and distributed prank phone calls. He was the subject of a lecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by a guy who’d never met him. A famous composer flew across the country just to meet him in person. He’s been the subject of a documentary. And he had (still has?) a mechanical monkey. And much more. Too much more. This article is well deserved!
Via Bohemian.com
It’s About Time
I concur 100 percent with each and every one of the excellent points that you have expressed (Open Mic, Nov. 18). And to this, I will add that we are now living in a post–Andy Lopez world where the marginalization of our disempowered youth, as well as the disparagement of the neighborhoods in which they just happen to reside, is no longer going to be tolerated. It is my sincere hope that those who have been so deeply affected by this horrific incident will continue to speak out about the injustices which still plague us, many of which were catapulted to the forefront of the public’s consciousness after Andy was gunned down. In the meantime, let us continue to do all that we can to ensure that a park in Andy’s neighborhood— which, as of Oct. 22, 2013, hadn’t even been conceptualized, 25 years past the original date that one was promised—will finally come to fruition and that it will, indeed, bear Andy’s name.
Via Facebook
Sea Sick
I was very distressed by this article (“Wait and Sea,” Nov. 18). While I can commiserate with the crab fisherman and the good organizations affected, I was struck by the failure to see the big picture.
We all need to be extremely concerned about what’s going on with the health of our oceans. Toxic algae and the resulting domoic acid problems are getting increasingly worse. This latest event is unprecedented. Coral reefs are dying. Whales are dying. Entire ocean ecosystems are breaking down because of warming and acidification. If our oceans die, we all die.
The other thing that struck me when reading the article is the absurdity that fire departments, educational facilities and health facilities need to rely on such fundraising events for a major part of their budgets. We’re a rich country, and Sonoma County is one of the richest areas of a rich country. If corporations and the wealthy were paying their fair share, all these vital services would have adequate funding. It’s simply despicable that our economic system is so skewed and corrupted by the 1 percent that we can no longer provide basic services to American citizens. It’s time to say enough is enough. The working people of this country deserve much better.
Madison, Wis.
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