Travel letters: Harlem, and all that jazz; more on Sand Creek; and no Bluetooth speakers, please

What fun to read Chris Reynolds’ article on Harlem [“Full-Tilt Harlem,” Aug. 7]. Thank you. And thanks for remembering Ella Fitzgerald. Here’s another spot you’ll love: the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

It’s finally in its permanent location, and the museum’s programs are wonderful. The Harlem School for the Arts is good too, with lots of free stuff.

Fran Morris-Rosman

Executive director

Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation

Archivist to the Fitzgerald Estate

Los Angeles

Acknowledging history

Referencing “Where Sorrow Meets Solace,” by Thomas Curwen, July 31: As horrible as the Sand Creek massacre was, it did not approach the horror suffered by the Shoshone Indians in January 1863 in what is now Idaho.

Between 450 and 500 Indians were slaughtered by U.S. troops stationed at Ft. Douglas in Salt Lake City. The dead included women, children and even babies. Only a marker erected by the Shoshone and a historical state sign mark the Bear River massacre.

The state of Idaho has blocked attempts to acknowledge this horrible event, the largest massacre of Indians in the West, including Sand Creek and Wounded Knee.

Kenn Morris, Los Angeles

The letters on Sand Creek [“Sand Creek’s Significance,” Aug. 7] are not the only lament about the way our history and subsequent books are being manipulated and distorted.

Government organizations have tried and succeeded (almost) to remove the Civil War from our history. They piously and ignorantly objected to flying the Confederate flag in the South. Thousands of young soldiers died defending it. It does not matter whether the South lost the war. The issue is that those people lost their lives because they believed in the cause.

I wish I could coin a few words to describe how biased, unintelligent and narrow-minded elected officials are. History describes the events the way they occurred. Politicians always try to convolute and excise it.

John Rosati, Simi Valley

Quiet, please!

I was a tad miffed to see the Travel section promote, alongside beautiful shots of places such as the Sierra Nevada, Corsica and South Africa, a Bluetooth speaker unit that acts as a sort of mobile DJ [“Bluetooth on the Go,” by Judi Dash, Aug. 7]. Seriously? It was an ear-opening experience this summer to take a walk along Huntington Beach while speakers strapped to bicycles played music at high volume. Is this what awaits us on our next hike of the Grand Canyon? I’ll bet $49.99 (the price of the system) that the vast majority of readers who enjoy the Travel section want to get a break from the omnipresent pounding of sub-woofers et al that pollute our cities on a daily basis. Here’s an idea: How about spending about half that amount on, say, earbuds?

John Schmidt, Artesia

A posh memory

Regarding Jay Jones’ article [“Palace Panache,” July 31]: I want to add that I was one of the first to spend a night at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

I was part of a group of servicemen based at nearby Nellis Air Force Base who opened the posh hotel as shills in advance of its debut to the public.

It was quite an adventure for those of us earning a few hundred dollars a month to be given a king-size room and bed just for helping out Caesars as guinea pigs.

Michael Daly, Mission Viejo