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Show 't -- t i ? r j The : National Enterprise, July 13, 1977 1 Page twenty-fiv-e Pragmatic Dogmatics The attack on Miz Lillian by Kent Shearer Mrs. Lillian Carter, we are told, packed for her son, James Earl, who was to leave for Washington to be inaugurated President. She left a note for him, which in part read: aint put a hankie in yaw top pocket, on account of yawl may need it in yaw pants pocket; worst theng a noo Prezdent kin do is go Ah wipin his beak on his sleeve. Trouble is, ah din have no time tuh git a second hankie, so whut yawl do is poke thuh end of yaw necktie through thuh hole in thuh linin so it come out in yaw top pocket. It go look dam smart lake thet, jes so long as yawl remaimber not tuh go grabbin it tuh mop yaw face or nothin, otherwise yawl gonna strangulate yawsailf, heh. heh, heh. That didnt really happen, of course, any more than did Mrs. Carter later write of U.N. Ambassador Andrew' Young that puttin a chicken in a sailur suit doan make him a The excerpts instead are from a admiral. Miz Lillian Writes, which, for a column, half-yea- r now, has appeared regularly in i owe Punch, a venerable (founded in 1841) London satirical weekly. It displaced a series of letters purportedly written by Idi Amin of Uganda. The column has Miz Lillian writing in Georgia cracker patois, often to Jimmi. but also to Amy and to such diverse relatives as her couzins Alice Bones Carter and Nehemiah Honest Carter. Her advice has been wide ranging. For instance, when it come tuh interference in Yuman Rights, yawl go find moh d n dissidents right heah in down home Plains than flies on a daid mule. Those include Uncle Fungus Carter whose marriage to his sister hasn't been ratified by Georgia, Lil Jesse Carter who is not allowed to ship his d moonshine across the county line, and Stonewall G. Carter whose Roulette for Jesus Movement has incurred the wrath of the Rev-eran- lawr. This Jubilee year, however, finds English parody in trouble. The British Press Council has hauled Punch before it to show cause why Miz Lillian Writes should not be discontinued. Seventy-on- e year old Alison Silver Oliver of Edinburgh has complained that the writings constitute vicious, unfair attacks on an elderly lady calculated to hurt, annoy and antagonize the President of the United States and every American. Whatever the Press Council rules and whether one agrees with Ms. Oliver or not, it is apparent that freedom of the press is a much more fragile right in Mother England than it is We give a strict here in the States. interpretation to the First Amendment, and that permits satire so long as it is not motivated as Miz Lillian obviously is not by actual malice. We prefer it that way and, if the Press Council proves repressive, there may be a flight of humorists to North America. Surely William F. Buckleys National Review could find a place for Miz Lillian. How could it turn down a personality who one time suggested to Jimmi that he ought tuh go foh a chain-samassacre spiced up with a touch o satanism,so that like Richard Nixon - he can, after his pardon, earn a fortune for television w appearances? ujcm' i $ 'i s ' T i j a First Avenue i by Parker Nielson On these summer days I like to stroll down First Avenue. H Z oQ. r CC z UJ have before since long been doing so now for upwards of ten years Akerlow speaks Chuck which the Friends of South Temple of long as I (Open Account, May 25), came into being for asknown as have lived near the east end of what was once 1 Brigham Street. There is a lot of history of the variety to absorb on First Avenue. Quaint old houses, many tucked behind trees or shrubbery, speak of another era more eloquently than a history book ever could. These are homes much like the stately old mansions of Brigham Street, now known as South Temple, but at the same time different. They are the homes of the common people who lived just a stones throw from the aristocracy of Brigham Street, or so I fancy. Regrettably though, these old homes are gradually being replaced by bland, modern, multiple units. Future generations will be unable to walk down First Avenue, and will be poorer for that. non-specif- ic Ii 5 t I J r J 4 o o One should never drive down First Avenue, unless the object is merely to get to the city. Walk down First Avenue, even though it takes fifteen minutes longer. Otherwise, you will miss most of what is there to see. The issue of preservation of buildings like the Devereaux House or Kearns Mansion is not the preservation of just any old building. Neither has the issue anything to do with whether If that were the test we historic buildings are functional. would have to turn the bulldozer on Temple Square, for surely we would build something more functional than the Salt Lake Temple or Tabernacle. But those hard, cramped, uncomfortable benches of the Tabernacle and the granite stones of the Temple represent more than functionality. Historic preservation is important to the spirit of a people. The spirits of our forebearers are embodied in the stones of buildings like those on Temple Square, First Avenue or Brigham Street. Destroy their contributions and you destroy a part of a culture which is all of us. even beautiful John Price can build functional buildings He, too, is but he cannot replace these. buildings contributing to our culture and future generations may cherish his efforts. What he is doing, however, can be accomplished without razing the monuments to those who went before him. There is an old stone house on the highway near Joseph, Utah, which is now on the National Register of Historic sites. I am proud to have had a hand in placing it there. It is not functional, and were it on South Temple it might not even merit a preservation, but it is unique for what it is and where it is tribute to a pioneer named Joseph William Parker, my namesake. Destroy that and you destroy a little of me. One stop on First Avenue which is a fertile source for contemplation is near A" Street. There Brigham Young and several of his wives are buried on a knoll overlooking the city he founded and the street which formerly bore his name. I like to think that Brigham directed that he be interred here where he could be close to and constantly oversee the city that he founded and loved. Otherwise, he might have been buried in the City Cemetery. Brigham was a great city planner. He caused the district to be created on Brigham Street which developed into the majesty the preservationists would now like to save, and built several of its mansions himself. I wonder if he would remain here on his knoll longer if he knew that Brigham Street was being replaced with sterile but functional John Price structures. |