Reader to Reader

Thank you, Rick Minyard, for clearing up the situation of the “Minyard & Minyard” show at KRLA-AM (Saturday Letters, July 29). “M&M;” was funny, intelligent and always topical. It was a show with two very clever and witty talk-show hosts with different political points of view who just happen to be father and son.

What makes it worse is that KRLA has replaced them with the most god-awful boring shows that you can imagine! What is KRLA thinking? I will really miss this special show.

DENISE McCANLES

West Hollywood

Rick Minyard insists that “Minyard & Minyard” had the “largest book-to-book percentage increase in share (75%) of any part of the station’s schedule.” The problem is, he is talking about a share of listenership for a station currently in 31st place!

Whenever his father Ken Minyard’s ratings began to tank over at KABC-AM, he was always able to convince management that it was the fault of his current partner at the time. Thus two of L.A. radio’s class acts, Bob Arthur and Roger Barkley, were unceremoniously dumped. Kudos to KRLA for finally figuring out the real problem in its drive-time slot.

ROBERT McARTHUR

Reseda

It seems unfair to the cast and your readers to print only such unappreciative letters about “James Joyce’s The Dead” (July 29).

For us, this little jewel saved the Ahmanson season. Because it had a rare combination of a well-crafted script for a touching story, an outstanding cast and performance, along with the magic of Irish music and dance, I walked out of this musical play with only one regret--that it was over.

I might add that the rest of the audience that night seemed genuinely enthusiastic. Not all of us need to be hit over the head with a swinging chandelier to have a good time.

SUE MILLER

Santa Monica

Gerald Sherman writes that in “Nuremberg,” Alec Baldwin lacks the power and command of Spencer Tracy (July 22).

I’ve seen most, if not all, of Spencer Tracy’s movies. He was a nice chap who played nice chaps. Where was the acting? I thought both Baldwin and Brian Cox were great.

BILL SIMPSON

Rancho Palos Verdes

Apparently, David Armbruster knows more about architecture than the likes of Charles McKim and Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. (July 22).

The National Mall is not “a lonely, empty space.” It is a space in which the echoes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech can still be heard. It is a space in which the glorious voice of Marian Anderson still rings. It is a space where Americans have come together in celebration and in protest, showing the true meaning of democracy. On more quiet days, the mall is still not empty: Its vast, pure expanse gives us a place to contemplate and reflect on our country’s history and future.

Erecting the World War II memorial on the mall would ruin the harmony and balance of this sacred place. Can we not honor our veterans (as they rightly deserve) in another location, one that would not disrupt a space so symbolic of the ideals for which they fought?

HARMONY JONES

Los Angeles

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