Elisabet Ney Museum
More Than We Reported
RECEIVED Tue., June 8, 2004
Dear Editor,
You were oh-so-correct about the rousing speech on taking back Texas that Ben Barnes delivered to the group gathered at Mother Egan's for the last John Kerry Meet-Up ["Barnes: 'Take Back Texas,'" News, June 4].
Let me, however, take gentle exception to your head count. Your article said there were around 60 people in the audience. Wrong!
As a veteran of many Clark and Kerry Meet-Ups at that same venue, I went home and immediately sent out messages to my friends telling them that we had standing room only – well over 125 souls who showed up to support our next president and to hear Ben Barnes.
When I saw Lee Nichols' article, I turned to the evidence to check my estimate – the photos we took that night (which incidentally can be found at www.austin4kerry.org/Pics/pics-5-27-MeetUp.htm). I count over 90-something different individuals in the photos alone. Further, given that I know this crowd, I can see that 25 or more avid Kerry supporters who were present are not in these photos.
So, in the spirit of amicable corrections, I would like to invite The Austin Chronicle to join the fun next time we meet and count noses for yourself. See you on Thursday, June 24, 7pm at Mother Egan's. If you want to lift an elbow with us, we will even help you count.
You were oh-so-correct about the rousing speech on taking back Texas that Ben Barnes delivered to the group gathered at Mother Egan's for the last John Kerry Meet-Up ["Barnes: 'Take Back Texas,'" News, June 4].
Let me, however, take gentle exception to your head count. Your article said there were around 60 people in the audience. Wrong!
As a veteran of many Clark and Kerry Meet-Ups at that same venue, I went home and immediately sent out messages to my friends telling them that we had standing room only – well over 125 souls who showed up to support our next president and to hear Ben Barnes.
When I saw Lee Nichols' article, I turned to the evidence to check my estimate – the photos we took that night (which incidentally can be found at www.austin4kerry.org/Pics/pics-5-27-MeetUp.htm). I count over 90-something different individuals in the photos alone. Further, given that I know this crowd, I can see that 25 or more avid Kerry supporters who were present are not in these photos.
So, in the spirit of amicable corrections, I would like to invite The Austin Chronicle to join the fun next time we meet and count noses for yourself. See you on Thursday, June 24, 7pm at Mother Egan's. If you want to lift an elbow with us, we will even help you count.
Sincerely,
Sharon A. King
Sharon A. King
[Lee Nichols responds: The 60 figure was arrived at by a visual estimate, not a hard count.]
