Letters

Freedom

My fellow legal citizens of Faulkner County who love liberty, what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five were captured by the Brits, tortured and died. Twelve had their homes burned. Four lost sons by capture or death. Nine of the 56 died from wounds in the Revolutionary Army. Twenty-four of them were lawyers/jurists. Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers. All lost their fortunes and families. Most died in rags. They never wavered in their love of freedom.

Freedom is never free. Patriotism is not a sin. What would we have done in their shoes? Happy Fourth of July.

T.C. Watkins

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Guy

Vote

This is in regard to House Bill HR2454 (The "cap and trade bill"). Vic Snyder, our representative, is the only Arkansas representative who voted for that bill. I wanted to make sure that everyone in his district knew how he voted on this most controversial bill that barely passed the House this week. He did not represent my or my husband's vote last night. How about yours?

Tracy Peacock

Conway

Evolution

Will Hunt (Log Cabin Democrat, June 26) assures us that "the world" was created instantaneously. Surely he does not mean by "the world" the present-day world. I seem to remember being around for some time before today. So just when did "the world" instantaneously begin?

The world today is perhaps trillions of light years in diameter.

Is he is asking us to believe that this vast universe just instantaneously popped into existence from nothing at all a few thousand years ago? Geo-physicists date the Earth from at least 4 billion years ago. And, according to the best physics, the heavier elements found on the planet had to form in immense hydrogen stars well before that 4 billion-year mark. Or does he mean that some 15 billion years ago the plasmic energy ball that began to expand and form hydrogen and helium atoms popped into existence?

Maybe he means by "the world" only the realm of organisms. Is it his view that the first pair of elephants formed instantaneously, along with all other species, including human beings? He rejects all the paleontological evidence to the contrary. He says there is no "clear evidence for the transition of life from one form to another." Of course, the trick is in the word "clear." What is clear to paleontologists may not be clear to him.

Maybe he means that the DNA of some original living cell formed instantaneously. Since no one has, to my knowledge at least, as yet any adequate theory about the ultimate origin of the first DNA, I doubt if he has any evidence to support his view.

Jim D. Shelton

Conway

Friend

Upon receipt of my newspaper and magazine article clippings from my mother, a weekly collection delivered containing any and all information related to me and or my family's life, someone's picture caught my eye. It was on page 2D of the Our Style section on May 24, 2009, Haskell 'Hack' Fagan celebrating his 99th birthday. One look at his eyes and his familiar hat made me smile instantly.

I have always known him as Mr. Fagan. He was a familiar sight for me, especially the last 20 years of my life as my parents' back yard and his were and are still separated by only a fence.

In the paper, Mr. Fagan's children expressed being blessed with a father who gave them Christian and family values, love, time, wisdom and integrity. I would like to add that he also gave a young boy friendship, a sense of responsibility and confidence for which I am very grateful.

Mr. Fagan took me arrowhead hunting and taught me how to find arrowheads in the fields of farmers after a good rain. My father attached them to a display board modeled after the many Mr. Fagan had. It resides in my office at home today. Mr. Fagan let me pick apples and plums from his trees, and we would sit on his back porch and eat them until I was stuffed. The most profound experience with Mr. Fagan was when I was about 10 years old. Mr. Fagan went out of town for a week and left me the responsibility of feeding and watering "Happy" his dog. I felt so big and proud when he returned and said what a good job I had done.

To Mr. Fagan I say thank you. Thank you for being my friend, teaching me responsibility and giving me confidence. You are a great man.

To the Fagan family I say congratulations for being able to spend so many years with such a special person. May there be many, many more.

Wesley Simpson

Greenbrier