I make a motion

[Jim McCulloch]

I have no opinion about Don Laird, whom I do not know. But as far as the
question of who should be allowed to subscribe, I think you should let
people subscribe who show interest, whatever their reasons. Realistically,
you are unlikely to be inundated with ghetto wannabes--or let us hope.

I myself had little to do with the actual Ghetto, having only been there
once, late at night, in the company of John Clay, and that visit is now
only a hazy and slightly nightmarish memory. I think John was living there,
but I am not entirely certain. The bad-dream quality of the memory might
have been the incidental byproduct of my occasional use at the time of
peyote, or it might have been intrinsic to the surroundings, perhaps
induced by a peripheral-vision awareness of cockroach antennae waving
gently in the shadows. I do recall thinking that I would rather hang out
with John in a relatively clean well lighted place, like the Chuck Wagon. 

My own interest in the list comes from the opportunity to hear from, or
read occasional gossip about, people I know, or used to know, from the
early and mid 60s. I knew some of the folk sing people, and some of the
political people, who are now on the list. But most of the regular
contributors here were not my pals, back then. Well, maybe Roger, of the
regular contributors, is someone I have kept us with and still stop and
talk to if I run into him, and Frances Morey, of course. I enjoy hearing
from Carolyn Garner (who seems to have stopped writing lately,
unfortunately), who was a good friend of mine in the old days.

No doubt if someone no one here knows persist in writing long and obnoxious
posts, you might reasonably kick that person out, but I would hope you
would not be too exclusive in letting people in. In fact every once in a
while people who are on the list, but not regular contributors, pop up with
interesting stuff simply because the discussion has awakened some long
forgotten memory--or caused some neurons to fire that produce the peculiar
reconfigurations of the past that in our old age we mistake for authentic
memories.  If the list gets to be too small and cozy, you lose that.

Best regards,

--Jim McCulloch