Letters to the Editor

Dear Mr. Hicks,

You are a good salesman. Yesterday, I ordered two copies of the Kern Tips book, one for me and one for my brother. We both grew up in those years, and we were raised by parents who loved ball games of any type. The radios in our house were always on when Kern Tips was broadcasting.

Sincerely,

Steve Hillis M.D.

Tyler

GOOD OLD DAYS

Phil,

Thank you for your commentary in Sunday’s paper, re: the book “Go to the Games with Humble.” I ordered a copy on Monday and can’t wait to read it.

I have fond memories of listening to Kern Tips broadcasting Texas Longhorn games during my childhood. I used to ride my bike all over Tyler, collecting the SWC team stickers that they gave away at Humble (and later Enco) gas stations. That made me a lifelong user of Exxon gas.

I have tried to find some tapes of Tips’ broadcasts to play for my two sons. In my opinion, he was Chris Berman (“rumblin, bumblin, stumblin,” etc.) before Berman’s time.

Those were the good old days.

Henry Jones

Tyler

PPP PROSELYTIZING

When did we start insisting that friends and family embrace our PPP beliefs (politics, pandemics, protests), or endure relentless badgering? This past week my brother-in-law, who knows I support the Black Lives Matter movement, has called twice, pressuring me to debate the issue with him. Why? I know I won’t change his mind, and he won’t change mine. I have a longtime friend who thinks I am gullible, because I choose to wear a face mask when I am out. I told her I would rather be thought a fool for wearing a mask, than be a vector for the virus, should the health experts and scientists turn out to be right about the threat of COVID-19. I worry about her, not wearing a mask! But I don’t pester her about it — she is a grownup who has to make her own choices. I thought we had moved on, but she sent me two emails this week, with links to stories she likes that relate to pandemic conspiracy theories. I still choose to play it safe, but it bugs me that she can’t let it go. It makes me wonder, why are people becoming so intent on proselytizing these days? Why can’t we just agree to disagree about these controversies, and focus on enjoying each other’s company? Just asking.

Ellen O’Brien

Tyler

NAMING METHOD

I’d like to respond to three items in your recent column and provide a sensible solution. 1) The young lady who said it was racist when the boys at school asked her which building she’d like to bomb. It wouldn’t matter what the school name was, they are idiotic teenage boys. Better parenting and time will hopefully mature them. 2) The young lady who doesn’t want to run track. OK. Don’t. It’s a free country and no one will force her. There are five other high schools nearby that would love to have her. 3) To the gentleman who said his children’s diploma would be meaningless. Wrong. My dad went to East Texas State, now Texas A&M-Commerce, and my mother went to Texas Eastern, now UT Tyler. Names change; it doesn’t devalue your diploma. He mentioned having a million dollars in property. TISD would say that’s a drop in the bucket. He is correct; he has the right to not support future bonds.

4) Lastly the solution — no schools should be named after people. Everybody has a past and with the internet it gets dug up. My solution is geographical. The schools are located north and south but that’s a wrong solution. We should use the line that the city and school districts have used. Broadway is the main divider in Tyler. Lee is east of it, JT is west off it. So Lee becomes Tyler East HS and JT becomes Tyler West. JT will need to be renamed because President John Tyler was voted worst president ever online. He joined the Confederacy and owned slaves after losing the election. He believed in manifest destiny, which held that the U.S. should colonize all the West and take the land. And it happened. Two days before leaving office he annexed Texas into the Union. So this is very offensive and should be changed. With both schools new, now is the perfect time to make the change. Plano, McKinney and several Dallas area schools use this naming method.

John Ellis

Tyler

CHECK HISTORY

If or when the board votes to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School, should they not also vote to change John Tyler High School, named for the 10th president, who owned slaves? Check your history.

Bill Melton

Troup