Underwhelmed by Tom Editor, As a frequent reader of Connect, there are columnists that I gravitate to. Recently, due to a byline I was drawn into “Underwhelmed by underage drinking” by Tom Parrish. Upon reading his opinion piece I realized that it is possible to have an opinion and be wrong. He chose to write a piece about the new law banning 18-20 year olds from entertainment establishments that happen to serve alcohol; this was his first mistake. The next mistake was to use the example of pool halls as his “near jailbait” experience. Although Mr. Parrish thought his story would somehow resonate humorously with Connect readers, the only humor was in the fact that Billiards establishments were slated as exceptions from the law. For those of you keeping score that’s mistake number two. In the second to last paragraph of his piece Tom says “Nothing positive can result from this practice of exposing kids to adults in this sort of environment.” This is mistake number three, because the legal definition of adult is 18 and that is what this law is about, not kids as he would like us to believe. In my opinion the negatives are that 18-20 year old people can no longer witness the complexity of jazz, the emotion of the blues and the raw power of rock and roll if adult beverages are served at the entertainment establishment. This will only push 18-20-year-olds to get dirty old men to buy 12-packs for them and be at the risk of being taken advantage of in a private unsupervised environment. Tom’s final paragraph is perhaps his finest execution of mistakes, wherein he insists that if we don’t agree with his poorly researched, curmudgeonly, conservative blathering we are hopelessly naÏve, drunk or stoned. Ê Those of us who realize young adults don’t have enough things to do already know what the consequences can be; too bad Mr. Parrish is too out of touch to realize this. Kevin Rose ‘Musician and producer inspired by witnessing live music at a young age’ Thanks for Irish coverage Editor: I want to thank the staff of Connect Savannah for the excellent coverage of the Savannah Irish Festival this year. Jim Reed’s interviews with the various performers were the most in-depth coverage of any festival line-up ever. The cover story on Cathie Ryan captured her special talent in an engaging article and, in my opinion, helped to draw people to the festival. Thank you for going the extra mile to reveal the essence of our cultural event. Jimmy Buttimer Chairman, Savannah Irish Festival Is it luck, or something else? Editor, Savannah will be having a St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. Folks will be decked out in green and lucky symbols such as four leaf clovers and leprechauns will line the streets. The “Luck of the Irish” will be in full view and folks will hopefully be having a fun time. Without raining on anyone’s parade, may I ask what luck is? Is it a magical force out there bringing good to some and havoc to others? Is luck some power manipulating our lives? These are some of the honest questions Charlie Johnston took the time to address in his new book, No Such Thing As Luck? A Biblical Perspective. Using the Bible as his basis for truth, Johnston shows how God has been robbed of His praise by talk of good luck and the Devil has hid behind bad luck. He confronts familiar ideas about destiny, fate, fortune, and chance upon which beliefs about luck has rested. What it reveals might cause you to rethink using these words in your vocabulary. You may talk about the “Luck of the Irish” but maybe they are just a “Blessed People.” At this year’s parade, maybe we could promote higher values than the luck symbols people have displayed in the past. Carol Johnston