Letters for March 15-21, 2007

In a Tanker's Wake

Tailpipe lies and embellishes

: The details in this story are completely incorrect ("Ten Seconds to Eternity," Tailpipe, March 12). Who are your sources? None, maybe, or perhaps it's those with ulterior motives. The people associated with this paddle trip know what happened; it was a non-event. You were told of the truthful details, but they were obviously too boring for you to print... so you have to twist the facts, embellish, and outright lie.

Millions of people do ridiculous things, intentional and just plain stupid, every single day... The paddle trip you wrote of is completely NOT one of those.

Name withheld by request

Via Internet

The view from the water: The mere fact that at least two personal names were used without permission means that the entire article is a load of bullshit. The author did not interview anyone involved who was actually there and in a kayak. The author did not get the full story. Any and everything reported about anyone who wasn't in a kayak at the time of this happening is word of mouth.

Name withheld by request

Via Internet

How you get swept into the channel: I have paddled with Jack Bauer, Kai Story, and a pretty good number of the meetup kayaking group. I have to say that, in the experiences I have had with them, there has been a significant emphasis on safety and boat handling as well as a very realistic approach to other marine traffic. I have personally talked with several of the folks who were present on the trip you described, and the picture is consistently different than what you wrote. I have also personally navigated the Port Everglades inlet for the past 25 years in all conditions in various craft, and would be glad to give you a demonstration of how a boat (or person in the water) can start out near shore and quickly be swept toward the center of the channel by the tide. If you could expose a pattern of negligence here, I'd be the first to applaud, but as far as I can tell, "it's leading 'cause it (could have been) bleeding."

Whitney Turner

Via Internet

Editor's note: There is nothing inaccurate in the column. The leader of the excursion declined to talk to Tailpipe and blocked access to the group's website. However, Tailpipe did interview five others familiar with the event, including the tow boat captain who rescued the kayaker from the path of an incoming tanker. In his opinion, the man in the water would have died had he not been saved.

Tying It On

Only thing he didn't do was submit to the rope:

Kudos to Jeff Stratton on a magnificent cover story ("Tie Me Up, Nawashi," March 1)! As the founder/owner and director of Life Style Alternative Center, as well as Co-Director of Photo Artisans Guild, we were thrilled with the positive representation of our organizations in the article, as well as the positive representation of alternative lifestyle performance arts, fine art photography, and safe practices. There's no question that Jeff got a glimpse of the holistically healthy energies and positive environment that we share as artisans!

Keiki Weigel

Palm Beach

We'll Never Know

And some cops risk their lives:

I lived in Chicago at the time that Dahmer was caught with all those body parts in his house ("Dahmer Did It," Bob Norman, February 22). Having heard about the Walsh murder when I was a child, I remember some of the details surrounding his kidnapping. I never knew that Dahmer lived in Florida. Does that mean he did it? The problem is that we have so many serial killers in this country; some estimates are around 200 at any given time. How can we say, OK, yeah, Jeffrey Dahmer did it?

Your article even mentions Ottis Toole, whom I remember reading about as well. Didn't he have a partner at some point? The partner could have grabbed Adam and taken him out of the mall while Ottis waited. I have never had any experience with the Hollywood Police Department, but even I cringed when I read what you wrote about them. That kind of generalization ropes in the good cops, and there have to be some, with the bad ones. There are people who risk their lives for us every day and get little or no gratitude for it. Go ahead, give the bad ones a hard time, but give the good ones a round of applause.

Julie Martin

Fort Lauderdale

West Palm, Banana Republic