Opinion
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Goodbye to Cat's
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Published: April 24, 2009
My favorite restaurant for Sunday brunch is gone. Yes, I'm going to miss it. Cat's Corner, in my humble opinion, had the best Sunday brunch in downtown Winston-Salem ("New owner plans changes to Cat's," April 15). The oatmeal, scrambled eggs, fruit, pancakes, omelets -- it all tasted very good and was presented very well. The coffee was great and the service was usually excellent. It's very sad to see it go.
I understand that some of the staff will be staying on and the place will reopen as a Mexican restaurant, which I will be trying for dinner or lunch, but it won't be the same. I can't imagine a Mexican restaurant having the brunch Cat's had.
It looks as if I'll be trying some new restaurants in the hopes of finding another friendly place I can settle into with my Sunday Journal, hot brunch, fine service and a relaxing, unique atmosphere.
ROWDY SCARLETT
Winston-Salem
He spoke his mind
When John Hope Franklin died, the last candid scholar of any stature passed from the public scene. He spoke his mind, respectfully, politely but candidly.
I often passed him in the early 1990s on his way to Duke Hospital. I never stopped him, but he always nodded and spoke like a gentleman. His engaging smile made me smile, because I knew of his embarrassing encounter with another outspoken scholar, W.E.B. DuBois. I always wondered if our encounters were conditioned by his.
As he told the story, he had just received his Ph.D. from Harvard, and he happened to see DuBois sitting alone in a Raleigh hotel that catered to well-heeled black folk of that era. He said he took this as his moment to greet his intellectual hero. Well, he went over and proudly announced himself, certain that he was due at least namesake recognition. But instead he got a dismissive, "How do you do?" without so much as a pause in his reading or a momentary glance, and certainly no handshake. He said he then quickly found his way back to his own table and tried to compose himself.
Years later, he reminded DuBois of the incident and received a heart-felt apology, which he accepted, but without which he had already mended the bond to his hero. They were friends from that point on.
This story strengthened my bond to each of them. I will miss Franklin's presence in my life.
RICHARD A. DAVIS
Pfafftown
Healthy teens
Thank you to the Journal for supporting the Healthy Youth Act ("Sex Education," April 17). This sensible legislation lets parents decide what type of sex education curriculum their children receive.
A 2003 parent opinion survey by the N.C. Department of Public Education found that of all parents of public-school students surveyed, 90.5 percent thought sexuality education should be taught in North Carolina public schools, yet for too long students in North Carolina have received abstinence-only education. Given that 52 percent of high-school students in North Carolina report having had sex and North Carolina's teen birth rate is nearly 19 percent higher than the national average, it is clear that abstinence-only education does not work. Young people need to know how to protect themselves against unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The Healthy Youth Act is appropriately named because it will protect the health and well being of our youth. The Senate should join their colleagues in the House and pass this bill and put the decision on sex education where it belongs: in the hands of the parents.
TARI HANNEMAN
CHAIRWOMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NARAL PRO-CHOICE NORTH CAROLINA
Winston-Salem
Surviving
I just read the April 18 letter "Not surprised" that ends with the writer saying that the Journal seems to be trying to make the reason for a subscription harder and harder to find each week (after the Journal's decision to include the TV section in the Saturday paper only to those subscribers who request it).
In light of the many recent newspaper closings, I have to say that I applaud the Journal for doing what it feels it needs to do to survive in these times and continue to publish our daily newspaper. I would much prefer a little inconvenience (like, "I didn't get my TV section as requested") to not getting any newspaper at all because my local paper has stopped publishing.
I can't imagine not having my newspaper to read every morning. I hope the Journal will continue to do whatever it takes to keep my subscription coming.
JUDITH HALSEY
Pfafftown
Continuous fawning
And all the newspapers wonder why readership is down? Continuous fawning over the president ("Even president has limits," April 19) is getting ridiculous. If you are going to publish an op-ed piece clearly slanted in the president's favor, please do it on the editorial page. Otherwise, just give the readership the facts and let us decide how we feel about them.
RICK WATKINS
Winston-Salem
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