Dear Mr. Keillor,
I have enjoyed listening to broadcasts of Prairie Home Companion for many years, and so was deeply dismayed and disappointed when I heard your February 5th show's Guy Noir sketch, featuring "Broadway Tourettes". I can't help but believe that you and your staff would never have run this skit if you had been aware how much pain it would cause others, and how damaging a message it was sending.

When a program of the caliber of Prairie Home Companion stoops to poke fun at people for having a neurological disability that causes symptoms that are beyond their control, it sends the message that it is okay to do so. Perhaps even more damaging was that you portrayed people with Tourettes Syndrome as foolish individuals who need to be segregated from others so as not to annoy them. Prairie Home Companion boasts an audience of four million listeners weekly, and with this one short sketch, you have managed to undermine the considerable efforts of those of us working to educate the public to promote greater understanding, acceptance and inclusion for those with Tourette's Syndrome.

This is a very personal issue for me, as my 12 year-old daughter has Tourette's Syndrome. Cassandra is a child of many remarkable gifts. She is a gifted student, performs with her school chorus and in the school musical, plays soccer, and is preparing to test for her brown belt in Karate. She loves to read, tell corny jokes and recently adopted a cat from the shelter where she volunteers from time to time. In short, she is a great kid, much like any other.

What my daughter wants more than anything is to be accepted and treated like any other kid in her 7th grade class. This is not always easy. Cassandra's tics make her the frequent butt of jokes and ridicule from her classmates and harsh treatment from teachers who do not understand her. It is downright heartbreaking at times. When you broadcast skits that mock those with Tourette's Syndrome, you send a message to her teachers and classmates that it is okay to do so, and that hurts my daughter. It also hurts every other child with Tourette's Syndrome, a group that is said to be represented in every school district in the country. It hurts adults with TS who frequently encounter discrimination in the workplace as well as in public and private places. Your program regularly features anecdotes about life in the small communities of this country, and people with Tourette's Syndrome live in each of these small communities

I understand that your show is an entertainment program, but it's success does give you a platform to affect peoples' hearts and minds for the better. I urge you to use this platform in the future to raise awareness of the realities of Tourette's Syndrome and not to perpetuate misinformation and hurtful stereotypes. Please contact the Tourette's Syndrome Association of America at tsa-usa.org or it's local Minnesota chapter.

Thank you,
Jessica K.

I disagree that we poked fun at people with Tourette's, Jessica. It was a comedy sketch about a cruise and there were characters who had what we called Broadway Tourette's, a neurological glitch that causes compulsive tics of singing Broadway songs, but Guy Noir's role was to protect them, to keep people from bothering them, and he did. And the Tourette's people were given the best accommodations on the ship.

They were not presented as foolish, in my book, they were in fact rather joyful. My position is that while comedy can hurt and set people apart as "odd," it can also be a way of bringing people into the common corral, a way of establishing a bond. The boy who comes to our show in a wheelchair gets a kick out of my warning people that he's a skilled pickpocket: he'd rather I tease him a little than that I pity him. Pity can be so stifling and patronizing and a way of holding people at a distance. I don't pity you for having a daughter with Tourette's, though I can imagine it's caused you a lot of heartache and I admire you for speaking up about this. And I suppose it was a little shocking to hear the word "Tourette's" in a comedy sketch. But "Tourette's" is a part of our language. People do use it kiddingly. People kid about dementia, about Alzheimer's, about all sorts of conditions. I think that's healthy. A few years ago I wrote a sketch in which a man parked in a handicapped parking spot (he was in a big hurry) and got a hailstorm of letters from people asking me how I could be so insensitive as to joke about this, but they ignored the part of the sketch in which the man was arrested and hauled in and abused by a judge. I think the Feb. 5 Guy Noir sketch was pretty innocent.

Garrison,
We were all proud to hear about the rave reviews from Berlin of your new film. However, why isn't the US premiere being held in Minnesota - the land of Lake Wobegon? Seems a lot more fitting than Austin, TX, or Aspen, CO.

Judy Zerby
Fridley, MN

The movie opens June 6 in New York and June 9 in selected cities around the country including Minneapolis. That's what I hear. The showings in Berlin, Austin, and Aspen are little previews, whose purpose is to lessen the anxiety of the distributor. Who, by the way, is Picturehouse, a fine company, which calls the shots. You may be overestimating the influence of the screenwriter, my dear. His pull is only slightly greater than that of the Key Grip or the Best Boy. Anyway, the movie isn't about Lake Wobegon, it's about a radio show, and radio travels all over.

Dear Garrison,
I am just wondering.... How do you reconcile the religious mores of your past with your present life? You joke about the distrust of success and fame ingrained into mid-western Protestants (thou shalt not exalt thyself above thy given station in life), but now you are famous and enjoy a successful career. What does your mother think of this? Your old schoolmates and/or church members? Are you the black sheep among those from your past?

I ask because as a Protestant American, I am constantly reminded to be 'realistic' and not to 'dream'. Failing is to teach me to trust in God, not my own abilities, and success is to give the credit to God and not become self-sufficient. Dreams are met with a myriad of possible hang-ups and gender roles are fixed. For example, when I planned to sail the seas or be a whitewater rafting guide for a summer, I heard, "That's a man's job." My sister who entered a firefighting program heard the same thing.

How does one transition from an old world mindset to the American culture where one is expected to dream the impossible, ask for a raise, go for the gold, try anyway, and never give up?

Did you face any of this and how did it turn out?

Sincerely,
Elizabeth

Those are large questions, Elizabeth, and I have to come down on the side of freedom and boldness, though my life doesn't necessarily demonstrate that. I've lived pretty cautiously most of the time. But when I was young, it struck me how many Christians I knew who were unhappy, especially with their work, and got little joy out of daily life, and their joylessness seemed terribly sad. I didn't want to live that way. I am a black sheep, of course, as are we all --- all have gone astray ---- but work is a blessing, not a curse, and Scripture makes it clear that we are to use our abilities as fully as we can. That doesn't necessarily mean dreaming the "impossible" or going for the gold, but surely it means to seek happiness and fulfillment in work. You don't need to transition into this ---- you just insist on making the best life you can, and then do it. How did mine turn out? I don't know yet. But I love doing my work every week and that is a blessing.

Dear Garrison,
I am studying for a master's degree in library science at San Jose State. I take one class a semester and work full time so it is slow going. I have recently been thinking of giving it up. This last Sunday, my boyfriend and I were on our way into San Francisco, listening to PHC, and heard The Adventures of Ruth Harrison, Reference Librarian, the part where she said that "Knowledge is power. Men are in fear of women with master's degrees in library science." That was all I needed! I am fully engaged my class this semester and hoping to be a kick-butt non-Googling librarian before I am at retirement age. Thank you so much!

Genevieve Cottraux
Napa, CA

Genevieve, I am certain you will prove to be phenomenal. Ruth, as you know, is also a karate master and builds upper body strength by storing encyclopedias on high shelves.

Dear Garrison,
As a French woman living in US, I wanted to thank you for your review of Bernard-Henri Levy's book. (NY Times Sunday Book Review, Feb. 5). Most French cannot stand him – his writing style as well as his general attitude!
He is usually described as arrogant, pretentious, self important and intolerable.
I hope most Americans understand he is not representative of the French. Some of his remarks about America did seem appropriate (yes, it is surprising coming from Europe to see so many flags everywhere and to hear prayers in public places), but I agree with you that he missed a lot, did not provide context or any kind of analysis: in other words, his “remarks” are not worth reading!

As for the fact that he called you a “populist Francophobe,” I must say that I couldn’t disagree more with him. I have lived for 5 years in US and since I arrived, Prairie Home Companion has been my “home-away-from home”. I love your show: to me, it sounds familiar, friendly and reassuring – much closer to France that you could ever imagine. I don’t think you could be Francophobe – I surely hope not!

Thank you again, for making me feel better - through your show - when I first came here, without family and only a few friends.

Best,
Cecile Chalifour
Los Angeles

Thanks, Cecile, and I hope that my country is treating you with respect and giving you interesting experiences. A distinct honor to think of a young French gentlewoman in southern California tuned in to a Minnesota radio show. Yes, the display of flags here may be interesting, but it is far from being a national obsession or cult, just as the Danes aren't flag-obsessed because they hang tiny Danish flags on their Christmas trees, which seems odd to an American but only a dolt would try to make it into a cultural phenomenon indicative of enormous truths. The Danish flag is a pretty flag, red and white, and they use it for a decoration. So what? Big deal. Mr Levy wrote a big blustery blathery book with a lot of nonsense in it and he deserved to have someone stick a pin in him. It's odd to be called a "populist Francophobe" ---- why, if he is going to be so arrogant as to confuse himself with France, didn't he call me anti-Semitic? Anyway, it's water over the dam, and don't give it a second thought. I look forward to my next trip to France, when I hope to go to Nantes and meet some old musician friends there, Georges and Patrick. They visited me in Minnesota twenty-five years ago and now it's my turn to go see them. Georges sang the most beautiful version of "Tennessee Waltz" that I ever heard. And then he came to my house, rustled around in the refrigerator, and out of odd things he found there, he created a very elegant supper. We sat drinking wine afterward and he was explaining some complicated thing to me and then he burst out with, "We French are too clever. That is our problem." This tickled him enormously and he fell over on the floor laughing. I would love to see them again. I have fond memories of Paris, sitting in a cafe with my French editor and translator, both of them chain-smoking, the air blue, a stylish crowd drinking coffee, and they were asking me pointed questions about Lake Wobegon ----- what is a church key? (A bottle opener, for beer.) Why do people say "Goodbye now" and "Okay then"? What does "brass monkey" refer to? My editor had worked with Albert Camus, but she was a true editor, curious about small details, and these things intrigued her. I have never had a bad experience in France, so if I am a Francophobe, it would be a mistake on my part.

Dear Garrison,
I am Venezuelan-American and discovered your show back in 1984 when I moved to Miami. I would like to know more about Sue Scott, I just love the way she portrays all these characters of different ages, origins, etc., and she makes everyone of them believable.

Please do not retire ever.

Virginia
Miami, Florida

Sue grew up in Tucson and studied theater at the University of Arizona and came north to work at the Old Creamery Theatre in Iowa where she got to do everything, play Dolly Levi in "The Matchmaker" and take on all sorts of character roles. She arrived in Minneapolis in 1982 at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop, moved on to The Illusion Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre and The Great American History Theater, and did "The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe" by Jane Wagner, the solo piece associated with Lily Tomlin. She had done radio voice-overs for years and acted in radio sketches, and she joined our little troupe in 1992.

Dear Garrison,
In one of your shows you said that the rules of survival in marriage are the same as those for survival in a lifeboat.

Could you tell me again what they are?

Many thanks,
Graham Brown
Hobart, Tasmania
Australia

1. No sudden moves.

3. Keep all thoughts of disaster to yourself.

Dear Garrison,
I feel we should be on a first name basis. In my youth, while I attended The St. Paul School of Associated Arts, I kept myself in paint supplies by working as a custodian at the Minnesota Public Radio building. I had the privilege of cleaning the floor where your office was located. We even met once while I was cleaning the men's restroom. Although I had set the 'cleaning' sign outside the door, you walked right in. Your exact words were, "Fancy meeting you here." I'll be out in just a moment, I replied, to which you said you had only come in to wash your hands. Hmmm.... I wonder. It seemed odd that you would be so fastidious about washing your hands when the state of your office was, well, disorganized.

I moved to Colorado Springs about 21 years ago and each week when I listen to your show I become nostalgic. Thank you for the weekly touch of the place that will always be home.

Ann Couirter
Colorado Springs

Thank you, Ann. I sort of remember that incident in the men's room. And of course I didn't go in there to wash my hands, you're right. I was probably too distracted to notice the sign by the door. I'm trying to remember what you looked like and I think I remember a very slight girl with long hair and glasses. We had an interesting collection of part-time custodians back then who worked at night, college kids by the looks of them, but I didn't ask. I remember that third floor well, the long hallway, the little suite of offices where Prairie Home was produced. At first I had a fairly large office but it had too good a view of 7th Street and that was too tempting so around 1984 I moved into a tiny windowless office, which was better to write in. I still keep in touch with most of the people who worked there. Helen Edinger who sat in the receptionist's cubicle is now a grade-school teacher in Mahtomedi ---- she was Teacher of the Year last year ---- and her daughter is coming to work for the show as a part-time music librarian in a few weeks. When you cleaned the office, the daughter was only a fond contemplation, and now she is a college kid, just like you. Time flies.

Dear Garrison,
I recently heard you say you are writing your memoirs. Then in your recent Old Scout, you mentioned a book you'd labored on for two years that you were ready to throw out. I hope these aren't the same book. The memoir is my favorite genre, and APHC is my favorite show of any media. Please say you will finish your memoir.

Kathleen Kakacek
Idaho Falls

I like certain memoirs too, Kathleen, like Philip Roth's "Patrimony" and John Updike's "Self-Consciousness" and of course Mr. Pepys's diaries (the unexpurgated version). And now Roger Angell is turning out a beautiful one which has appeared in the New Yorker bit by bit over the past fifteen years or so. Look up the most recent entry, from January. I haven't written one because I know how much time it would take to do it the way I'd want. And I don't have a strong motive.But the book I dumped wasn't a memoir, it was a novelization of a movie screenplay. No tears need be shed for that.

Dear Garrison,
We love your show. Everything you talk about reminds me of where I grew up in San Rafael, CA. which was once a "small town" settled by Italians. In the 1950's this old man named Charlie used to bring his horse-drawn buggy to my grandmother's door and all the old Italian ladies would come walking down the street to talk and visit with their neighbors and buy fresh vegetables from him. We knew the milkman, the garbage man and the mailman by their first names. My mom would bake cookies for them at Christmas time. Up until about 1973 I could ride my horse anywhere downtown and tie him up to a parking meter and get an ice cream at Woolworth's for a quarter. In grammar and high school, my mom made us walk to the bus even in the pouring rain. There were these things called umbrellas and rainboots that kids these days don't understand because their parents don't want them to feel unloved if they don't schlep them to school each day in the Mercedes.

Then something happened about five years ago. The old traditions died, kids moved away for good after college, families split up and now our parents are going to Heaven (we hope!). We are left with memories but the landscape has changed. Snobby young yuppies with their whiney, undisciplined kids have moved in and all everyone seems to care about is how much money you have and what kind of car you drive and how much "stuff" you have. It's all about how good you look in spandex while getting your decaf-soy-non-fat-latte at Peet's Coffee and talking about how sore you are because you just worked out for 2 hours at 24-Hour Fitness.

So now we are looking into new places to live - something we never thought about before - but this doesn't seem like "home" anymore. We don't know where that will take us. Maybe north to Washington which we hear is very, very nice. But every Saturday night from 6-8pm Pacific Time, we tune in to your show, cook dinner, drink wine and listen in front of the crackling fire. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Carol B.
San Rafael, CA.

San Rafael will be poorer if you leave, my dear, and those whiney children will be even less likely to hear about the old Italians of the town, which would be a pity. So if you do leave for the north, make sure you write up your memoirs of San Rafael in the Fifties (leaving out the complaints about yuppies) and put it where anybody can find it. Those old Italians you remember may have missed their youth back in the Depression years when people cared about each other and weren't spoiled by postwar prosperity and the big cars with fins and the TVs. They looked on the children around them as somewhat whiney and spoiled, surely. Which I'm sure you were not, dear. But do a local history project before you go.