Letters 7/10 - 7/18 | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Letters 7/10 - 7/18

In reply to "Best Of Ballot (Survey, 7/4)"

Dude...La Pine? You have Sisters, Redmond, and Sunriver on your survey, but not La Pine? Best Breakfast: Wickiup doughnuts!! Best Staycation: Paulina snowshoeing (and lodge, etc.)! Give folks a voice and they might surprise you.

—Josie Hanneman

In reply to "Don't Be a Dunderhead (Boot, 7/11)"

No surprise that people in Peter Pan town object to the notion of wearing helmets. I've had 4 friends who's lives were saved by helmets. The only reason people don't wear them is that they aren't cool looking. That's it. Is it worth it?

—Scott Aycock

Thank you for this important reminder. I've seen both possibilities up close.

A few years ago, a friend of ours, a father of a young boy, was hit by a truck while bike riding without a helmet. He has been in and out of comas ever since, and can't even recognize his son. In January, our landlord had a similar bike accident - hit from behind by a car. But he was wearing a helmet, and while he is not yet fully recovered, he has no head injuries.

What a huge difference a helmet can make! It may be human nature to think that serious accidents only happen to other people, but it is incredibly foolish. Where are all these "other people"? Magical thinking has never saved anyone's life!

—Jan Hunt

I don't disagree with encouraging helmet use but I do have a problem with you taking pot shots at one activity based on statistics where you don't even cite your source. I am confident that 51,000 bicycle related head injuries pales in comparison to the number occurring from motor vehicle use or simple falls. This diminishes your argument to simple fear mongering and minority bashing based on an isolated and anonymous statistic.

—RJ

Son Volt

HONKY TONK ??? NO WAY! Son Volt is rock Americana, dual Les Paul driven, gritty roots ballads, about as far from Honky Tonk as you can get. Pretty much started the Americana genre, with Wilco. (Jay Farrar was originally teamed with Jeff Tweedy in pre-Son Volt / Wilco group "Uncle Tupelo". Once again the Source reveals its total ignorance of anything but the flavor of the month when it comes to music. Look how they ignored Hot Tuna, called them a "folk duo", two words, not even a paragraph on these guys, when Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady wrote the book on psychedelic rock with the Jefferson Airplane. Whatever. CLUELESS. How about another cover story on DJ's, since you consider that advanced musicianship? Argh.

—6 string samurai

In reply to "Bike City USA...Really?" (News, 7/11)

Yes, agreed! We are Bike Town USA in a recreational sense, but when it comes to having an urban bike culture and using bikes to get from A to B in town, we're not much better than any other small city. In my opinion, we could use more quality bicycle infrastructure that separates bikes from cars and makes cycling a more pleasant and viable option around town. Riding in downtown is a bit of a joke, either walk your bike on the sidewalk or ride in traffic. Fine for hardcore cyclists maybe, but not really a safe or pleasant option for families and small children. But yes, we also need more of our "cyclists" to get out and use bikes around town, not just on a road or mountain ride. Get out and ride your bikes people!

—Ross

In reply to "Fear and Loathing on the Fourth" (Opinion, 7/11)

Bend is its own culture. We subsist in the middle of a high desert, yet thrive on more than sagebrush and rock chucks. But, it isn't just the obvious that establishes our culture (beer, bikes, snow)—it's often the little things, which sometimes grow to, at least, semi-epic proportions. A prime example of this is the event that comes just once a year—The Freedom Ride.

The Fourth of July in Bend is a spectacle. The past two Fourths have become almost exhausting, and I am specifically referring to the congestion through downtown in the late afternoon of our Independence, of the welded metal and the rubber-meets-the road machine of fireworks, music, beer, funny hats, but, most importantly, freedom.

A letter from the latest issue of the Source titled "Fear and Loathing on the Fourth" lamented about his piss-soaked car, dudes without sleeves, and a sad sister suffering through a party "where no one seemed interested in playing croquet." To me, it seems as though "Fear and Loathing" missed the larger purpose behind Bend's celebration of freedom, which is made evident by holing his lonely self up in Sidelines and "braving" the steep cost of a six-pack. Come now, Mr. Loathing, is this how you celebrate your freedom? Condemning the sleeveless from a sulky corner of sports bar?

The Freedom Ride is more than a bunch of Bend Bro-Bras and Bunnies drinking beer and holding up the unsuspecting tourist in traffic. It's more than body paint and tri-colored costumes. It's even more than bikes. The Freedom Ride is about celebrating your freedom. Seems obvious, but participation over the past two years has exploded (boom goes the firework), and while I've heard bickering about how big it's gotten, about how it's not as good as it used to be, I can't help but revel in the awesomeness of the event. Non-sanctioned, spread by word-of-mouth, and even family friendly enough to bring out the young ones. While some look at the event ironically, it is still joyous that they can participate in it ironically. That all of us can come together and be a part of something so large and so culturally Bend.

So, Mr. Loathing, I feel sorry for you. You simply missed the boat on its course to good times, good beer, and, most importantly, FREEDOM!

—JW Warden

**Editor's note: We love people that agree with us! Ross, you get letter of the week!

We also love people who read our paper and take the time to disagree with it! So, JW Warden, you also get letter of the week! $5 to Crow's Feet Commons for each of you. Cheers, thanks for reading!

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