Postmarks

Biscuit Touched Us All

Dear Editor,

It is now the hottest part of the summer, but when I heard that Biscuit has passed on, a cold chill ran through me ["Making Biscuit," Music, Aug. 19].

I first met him in the 1970s when long hippie hair was still fashionable in Austin clubs; young Biscuit wore his hair in a buzz cut. I remember when he cut a one-inch-by-four-inch bald rectangle that showed his gleaming scalp going back from his hairline and he parked a little plastic car there with his glue gun. Whenever I tried to look him in the eye, my vision kept drifting up to the little shiny car stuck to his head.

That was classic Biscuit. In the coloring book of life, he colored outside the lines.

He was one of the sweetest, most flamboyant, and creative people that I have ever had the pleasure to know, and I will miss him.

Artly Snuff

[Editor's note: See "True Today," Music, p. 64 for Biscuit's final interview.]

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Have a Great Afterlife, Biscuit

Dear Editor,

Biscuit. Shit, that's another incredibly cool person I have known to pass into the great beyond in the last 30 years ["Making Biscuit," Music, Aug. 19].

Back story: I met Biscuit in the Seventies as we were both fans and regulars of the great country, rock, and punk shows at the Armadillo.

We only knew each other casually and by sight at that time. I didn't really place him in that context until we met again years later when the Plimsouls were on tour in 1981 and we played Club Foot. The Big Boys were tearing up the town at that time. We weren't close pals, but it was always great to run into Biscuit over the years and hang a little.

Randy is the missing link between hippie and punk culture in Austin. I do hope that somebody in Austin gets it together to get Randy's home declared a cultural/historical landmark because that place is in its essence a monumental art piece that must be preserved. It is the stuff of what made Austin weird since time began. Hopefully it can be made into a gallery for other artists to show their work.

I loved Randy for his kindness, gregariousness, superhuman talent, and nerve.

Nothing was out of bounds artistically, musically, or socially, and he was always open to all who sauntered up to have a word with him whether they dug him or not.

It was a total gas and honor to have played on the same bill with the Class of '78 at the 2004 AMA awards with Mr. Biscuit. He was truly in his element as the great performer he always is. It's gonna be tough for me to place him in anything but the present tense. That's how immediate his impact will remain.

Have a great afterlife, Biscuit.

Eddie Munoz

Hollywood, Calif.

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Honoring and Remembering Biscuit

Dear Editor,

Will there be formal or informal get-togethers for Biscuit ["Making Biscuit," Music, Aug. 19]? Although I have not seen him in years, I think of him regularly and the great times we shared in the band [the Big Boys].

Fred Schultz

[Editor's note: The Chronicle has received the following information from a friend of the Turner family: A memorial service is scheduled for Randy "Biscuit" Turner in his hometown of Gladewater, Texas. All who wish to attend in support of his mother Nellie Turner and his family are welcome. An Austin celebration of Randy's life is being planned for September. Details will be published when finalized. The family wishes to express their heartfelt thanks to all his friends for their support.

Arrangements are made through:

Croley Funeral Home,

401 N. Center St.,

Gladewater, TX 75647,

903/845-2155.

The service will be held:

Saturday, Aug. 27, 7pm,

Grace Baptist Church,

212 E. George Richey Rd. (FM 2275),

Gladewater, TX 75647.]

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Biscuit Was Not a Drinker

Dear Editor,

What sad news about the death of our beloved Randy "Biscuit" Turner ["Making Biscuit," Music, Aug. 19]. In your article [online], the cause of death was reported as cirrhosis of the liver, "consistent with alcohol abuse." I would like to set the record straight: Randy has been a close family friend for more than 30 years, and he rarely, if ever, drank alcohol. Rather, he fought a lengthy battle with a particularly virulent strain of hepatitis C for years, which ultimately compromised his liver and contributed to an untimely end.

Valerie Austyn

Weston, Conn.

[The Chronicle received numerous e-mails of a similar vein from friends and family. Jordan Smith reports: Although Travis Co. Medical Examiner Roberto Bayardo did not perform the Turner autopsy, he said he recalled that Turner's liver was severely damaged and "all shrunken, like a little walnut," a finding apparently consistent with alcohol-related cirrhosis. Toxicology reveals alcohol in Turner's system at the time of his death, but not how much. When told by the Chronicle that Turner's family and friends are adamant that Turner was not a drinker, Bayardo seemed somewhat surprised. "Oh, really?" he said. "Not a drinker?" Bayardo acknowledged that the damage to Turner's liver could have been caused by the hepatitis C virus, which Biscuit had made known that he had. Assistant Medical Examiner Elizabeth Peacock performed the autopsy but did not complete a "microscopic examination of [Turner's] liver," reports Bayardo, which is the only way to determine if hep C was indeed a factor in his death. Bayardo says that his office will now go back and "cut the tissue" needed for a liver exam and estimates that additional test results will be available this Friday.]

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Downtown and Affordable?

Dear Editor,

In the Aug. 5 "Naked City" [News], Jordan Smith suggests that once "projects like the Nokonah began poking up all over town" teachers, firefighters, young professionals, and middle-income families were "pushed out" of downtown. I feel the need to point out to Ms. Smith that the number of downtown Austin residential households has steadily declined from 1940 through 1980 with the downtown population falling from some 13,000 to 3,000. Then, after holding fairly steady at that bottom for 20 years, there was a remarkable turnaround that began just after the year 2000, precisely as a result of projects like the Nokonah. Downtown residential units and population turned steeply upward for the first time. These facts, coupled with the fact that the Nokonah was built on the site of a used car dealership, make it difficult for me to believe that the Nokonah pushed any resident out of downtown. As for scoffing at the notion that the proposed project, Spring, will have a component of affordability, all I can do is lay it out. Providing a high-quality, well-located, owner-occupied, residential project downtown wherein some units can be purchased by an individual or a couple with a combined income of $60,000 is a major triumph. Your readers can decide for themselves whether or not this is a misuse of the term affordable. Thanks.

A regular Chronicle reader,

Perry Lorenz

[Jordan Smith responds: I don't dispute the official statistics referenced by Perry Lorenz, indicating that more people are now living downtown. There may indeed be a lot of new residents, but they are not among those in the middle- to lower-income brackets. As the same city demographic studies show, those people are being pushed outward from the urban core, in part by rising real estate prices. More specifically, I am puzzled by his assertion that a $200,000 condo (i.e., or more vaguely, "some units") will be "affordable" for folks earning a combined $60,000 a year. Those are numbers I just can't stretch to meet in the middle. Asked about this, Lorenz argues that with a 20% downpayment ($40,000) a $200,000 unit is, in fact, affordable for a household with a combined income of $60,000.]

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Savlov Got It Wrong

Dear Editor,

After reading Marc Savlov's Aug. 12 review of The Great Raid [Film Listings] I was curious to see if he got it right. He didn't. The best movie of 2005 is undoubtedly The Great Raid. Ebert and Roeper gave it "two thumbs up," and my wife and I couldn't agree more. How many movies have you seen where the audience stays through the credits until the very end? The Great Raid was a memorable, fast-paced, and crowd-pleasing chronology of the true-life events that took place between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31 in 1945 near the end of World War II. The brave Filipino Resistance and American soldiers working together not only gave the 511 POW camp survivors their freedom but also liberated millions of Filipinos from the brutal and murderous Japanese invaders. The Great Raid will make you proud to be an American. Go see it for yourself and see if you don't agree with the direction of our thumbs. Savlov's review, while predictable, gets "two thumbs down."

Richard Weinstein

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Hateful Ignorance on Hunting

Dear Editor,

I am outraged by the remarks of Amy Quartermain's "Postmark" (Aug. 19). Her many points are presumptuous, stereotypical, and most offensively lacking in reason. I've hunted every year of my adult life and have never met the hunter motivated solely by the love of killing. I hunt because I refuse to consume the antibiotic- and hormone-laden poison available in the grocery, because I refuse to support the corrupt and despicable U.S. meatpacking industry. Another of Ms. Quartermain's delusions is that development in the Hill Country has decreased both population and habitat. Yes, development decreases habitat. However, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, white-tail deer population has increased in the Hill Country over the period from 1976-2003 while the total numbers of deer harvested by hunters and game wardens has also increased during the same period. If every year we encroach more upon habitat and harvest more deer, why do population trends continue to rise? The answer is natural predators. We no longer have wolves and coyotes to help cull herds; the only predators left in abundance are humans. The words used by Ms. Quartermain in her summation on population control (of hunters, not prey) are hurtful, malicious, and, most importantly, entirely devoid of factual basis. Any editors or readers who wish to use their human gift of reason to elevate themselves above Ms. Quartermain's hateful ignorance may choose to educate themselves on the matter, I found TPWD's Web site most informative and helpful: www.tpwd.state.tx.us.

Reese A. Heffington

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Thank God for the Decent Folk

To the editor,

I'd like to thank Kurt Standiford for yet another deeply insightful letter ["Postmarks," Aug. 19]. Kurt, your sterling wit, maturity, and humanity are an inspiration to us all! Where would this wretched world be without decent folk like you? I shudder to think!

Thomas Boggs

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Education Deserves More Funding

Dear Editor,

Wow, Greg [Solcher]. There's so much wrong with your letter I don't know where to start ["Postmarks," Aug. 19]. My wife is also a teacher. She has taught kindergarten and first grade for 10 years. She also didn't become a teacher for the big bucks since that's impossible. She did it because she loves children and wants to help them achieve their goals and dreams.

First, with their long days, nights, and weekends, teachers actually average about the same number of hours per year as a 40-hour-a-week job in the "real world," whatever that is. They deserve a break to refresh themselves – although lots of them have to work summers anyway to supplement their income.

Second, education majors put in the same amount of time and money as other college majors, but then find out they've hardly been prepared for the classroom, since teaching book knowledge is such a small percentage of their responsibilities. Every year their workload increases with more administrative duties, and their accountability is based on unrealistic numbers rather than children's improved lives.

Third, what kind of solution is kicking out the "kids who don't want to go to school"? Most kids struggling are the ones who need it the most, many of them not getting support from their families. The hard truth is that education does deserve a lot more financial backing. What's more important than a good education? Teachers need help with hands-on assistants or fewer kids per class and financial incentive to keep doing the difficult job they have.

Mack Brown is a teacher. He teaches young men to play football. His yearly raise alone is triple the amount of an elementary teacher's whole yearly salary. Whose job is more important to the future of our society? Can we even the playing field a little?

Jeff Farris

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If You Don't Agree With Me ...

Michael Ventura,

No need for you to stay in the U.S. "As a passionate anti-capitalist" I think you would be much happier in a different country ["Letters @ 3AM," Aug. 19]. There are lots of other countries to choose from. You could still stay in touch through e-mail. l just want you to be happy. Please feel free to move to a country more to your liking. I will even drive you to the airport.

Laura Lefler

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What Were They Thinking?

Dear Editor,

No wonder the Hays County commissioners were all grins in last week's budget meetings. Not only did they make cuts in much-needed health care, but they completely deleted all funds for the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. You know, the one that the state Legislature mandated we have. The one that we voted for. The one that will oversee the quality of the Trinity Aquifer, which supplies groundwater for many of Hays County's residents.

What were they thinking?

Fay Evans

President

Bear Creek Oaks Property Owners Association

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Missing out on Roky

Editor,

All right, folks, I'm gonna have to give y'all some shit here. While a historical fluff piece has its merits ["The 14th Floor," Music, Aug. 12], as y'all were busy writing that, South Austin was reporting a 13-point earthquake. Many of the very musicians mentioned in your article were busy making more history, but where were you?

And, as the birthday boy [Roky Erickson] took the stage, there was a universal meltdown, the Earth's core was revealed, and rock & roll came pouring out.

OK, done bitchin'. Now to taunt you. Set list [Aug. 6]:

It's a Cold Night for Alligators

White Faces

The Interpreter

The Beast Is Coming

Bermuda

Splash 1

Creature With the Atom Brain

Starry Eyes

Two-Headed Dog

You're Gonna Miss Me

I Walked With the Zombie

Happy Birthday Roky

Peace now,

Glen B. Svendrowski

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Trust Mothers

Dear Editor,

It was American mothers who were the catalyst for our withdrawal from Vietnam, and once again it is mothers leading the turn in public sentiment against the Iraq war ["Sheehan's Field of Dreams," News, Aug. 19].

If our country is ever attacked again, I hope that there is a mother sitting at her desk in the Oval Office. Recent history in mind, it seems that it will take someone other than a male politician to value the lives of our nation's youth.

Brett Hamann

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Education an Inalienable Right

Dear Editor,

I would like to respond to the letter from Greg Solcher ["Postmarks," Aug. 19]. First of all, to suggest that we put all of our resources toward the brightest kids and give up on students with disabilities is archaic. There is a concept outlined in our laws called a free, appropriate, public education for all students. Yes, education is one of those inalienable rights. Education is compulsory because we would all benefit from having a well-educated society.

Secondly, I would like to point out that while an education major entails some bogus coursework, it is the actual practice of teaching that is very challenging. Many teachers do not actually major in education, but they major in a "content" area such as math or history (or chemistry or physics) and then take education coursework on top of that. Then, teachers-in-training also complete practicum and student teaching. Let us not forget all the specialists working in schools such as OTs, PTs, and SLPs who must attain graduate degrees and could have lucrative careers in private practice (and often leave the public schools to do so).

I agree that most teachers are not in it for the big bucks. I doubt that the only reason that your wife went into teaching was because of the schedule. I would argue that most teachers go into teaching for altruistic reasons.

I hope they stay!

Margaret Maroney

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'Bambi' Not a Documentary

Dear Editor,

Re: Amy Quartermain's "Postmark" Aug. 19: Did you see Bambi one too many times or run out of your medication? "Inconsequential" who "screwed the ecosystem"? Yes, development has taken a lot of deer habitat but it doesn't stop them from raiding gardens and landscaping plants around town. Stop and think about why the deer population has multiplied by 10 (or a hundred in some areas).

How about a hint. Heard of any bear attacks in the area recently? Any news of wolf-bitten people admitted to Seton? No? Maybe because humans have eradicated all but a tiny percentage of the deer's natural predators in our area. The food chain is missing more than 90% of an entire vital link. But, as you so cleverly observed, "speeding cars and stress" seem to be balancing everything out. I, for one, have never seen a deer die or dying due to stress, but I have been present at a few deer/vehicle accidents. Not pretty, not humane, and certainly not an effective method of population control. Deer kill more humans than any other animal here in the U.S.! Deer also cannot discriminate between people obeying limits and those "speeding." Overpopulation also can and has caused mass starvation from time to time. If you had to die, would you choose: 1) being hit by a vehicle with no chance for medical treatment (yeah, some don't die for days); 2) slowly wasting away till you were too tired to even fend off the fire ants; or 3) an assassin's (hopefully) well-aimed bullet? As a bonus, parts of your body (on the last option only) would be used to feed and possibly provide home furnishings for hungry humans. Well, which one, Amy?

Steve Brownell

San Marcos