Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little smear: In response to the cowardly former student of mine who would not have his/her name revealed as the author of a nasty letter about me (Letters, December 29): As a matter of fact, 91 percent of my students over the years have rated me as good as, or better than, most professors [at Broward Community College]. Furthermore, this has been the best year ever in the bamboo business.
James W. Johnson
Fort Lauderdale
Gift of the Maggot
Pimpin' Pappy out of business? You have made Ol' Santa smile. The elves and I have been pleading with Arthur Vanmoor for the past ten days to mend his evil ways and do better ("Far From Benign," Jeff Stratton, December 22). Despite all of the encouragement I could muster, sadly, Arthur would not relent.
I was pleased to see, however, that shortly after your piece ran, all of Arthur's websites went dark.
The e-mail address to his private account: [email protected] has begun to bounce (again).
Santa is very, very proud of Jeff. If you should happen to see Arthur, remind him, "Yes, Big Pimpin' Pappy, there is a Santa Claus." Merry Christmas!
Name withheld by request
Miami
Editor's note: Contrary to Santa's glowing report, a check of the Internet shows that Vanmoor's spurious cancer-cure site is up and running again, with even more false claims than before.
House of Lauderdale
We remember David: My son Joshua and David Bigoney ("The House That Bill Built," Jeff Stratton, December 22) were good friends; they both attended St. Mark's Episcopal School and were in the Boy Scouts together. David celebrated Joshua's sixth birthday with three other boys at our ranch in the Everglades. For the other little boys from the city, the Everglades was a strange and wondrous place. One little fellow said in amazement, "Are all these trees yours?" For David, of course, living in his dad's special house, it was just normal to be surrounded by nature.
I can remember exactly that Saturday morning. We were at the ranch, and our guest, Father Gabe Reilly of St. David's Catholic Church, who was to go quail hunting with my husband, brought the newspaper when he arrived. After serving them breakfast, they left, and I settled down with my tea to read the paper. Imagine my horror to read about the murder. My first thought was: Will David live? Prayers were all I had then. My second thought was: How will I tell Joshua? It was a very bad day.
Days later, several teachers from Saint Mark's and I went to visit David in the hospital; he was recovering physically, but inside, he was naturally a different person. Time passed, and we at Saint Mark's sort of lost track of David. We knew he had gone on to college but no details. I am so glad to read he has moved on and has goals again. Thank you for writing of David.
Barbara Gail Cuthbertson
Fort Lauderdale
Some things you just don't want to know: I would like to clarify your reference to "architect" in your Bill Bigoney story. I do not call myself an architect, as I am not licensed, but I am the design principal and president of an Architecture and Urban Design firm, Glavovic Studio Inc.
Also, I only scanned the article but did not complete it. As we discussed, I do not know much about the death of Bill Bigoney and prefer to focus on the wonderful place that we live in. I do not wish to diminish the experience we have of our home.
Margi Nothard
Fort Lauderdale
Stratton channels the legacy: I have enjoyed Jeff Stratton's two recent articles regarding Fort Lauderdale architects, Francis Abreu and Bill Bigoney ("Raze the Roof," November 17, 2005, and "The House That Bill Built").
Am I seeing a trend for a new series? Because there is a likely a potential compendium of interesting architects who have haunted this city's streets over the past century.
Christopher R. Eck, MA, JD, Administrator and County Historic Preservation Officer
Broward County Historical Commission
Fort Lauderdale
Messin' With the Formula
Eddie and Damon, where are you when we need ya? Bob Norman was absolutely on target with the story on Pat Riley ("The Life of Riley," December 22). Could not agree more — as a longtime Heat fan, I have been watching that situation intently, including dismantlement of the good young team that did so well with Shaq last year. What a shame — on a par with the dispersal of the winning Marlins team. Riley had a bad case of "green eyes" and was out to sabotage a young rival (whom we all liked!) with about-to-retire, egotistical oldsters (Zo excepted).
From afar, I could admire Riley and was glad when he came to Miami. But now? I would rather have Van Gundy and last year's team back. That style of basketball was way more appealing.
Cynthia Plockleman
West Palm Beach
Nightlife Columnist
New Times is looking for a writer who can hunt out Broward and Palm Beach’s most compelling night scenes and then render them in vivid detail. Send a résumé, writing samples, and a cover letter to Tony Ortega, Editor, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, 16 NE Fourth St., Ste. 200, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, or e-mail your credentials to [email protected].
