Letters to the Editors

'Hippie' turns out to be a Good Samaritan

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 14, 2000

The adage "Don't judge a book by its cover" is still significant.

Recently while driving on a busy St. Petersburg street, I was passed by a young man in a red convertible. His appearance immediately made me think, "Hippie." He had long, unruly hair and a blaring radio -- a man surely intent on having a good time, perhaps heading for a beer and a dame.

As I drove farther, the traffic slowed and became one lane. I noted a car stalled in the other lane with a flustered looking older gentleman at the wheel. As I passed the stalled vehicle (as all the preceding motorists had done), I saw the red convertible had pulled up in front of the old man's car, and my "hippie" was pulling up the hood.

How wrong I had been! Here all of us older, supposedly more understanding drivers, had been annoyed by the delay and had passed up an opportunity to help a fellow man while a young man had taken the time to care about another's welfare.

Perhaps if all of us took a few moments to consider how we could better another's life, it would help ease the rage and brutality that have become the common expectations of today.
-- Renee G. Salzer, St. Pete Beach

St. Petersburg's 1-way streets confusing

I must say something about those one-way streets in St. Petersburg.

I have lived here most of my life and have worked when they started using those streets. And let me tell you, they are the most confusing and jumbled-up mess that I have ever encountered.

We don't need that any more. Please make it easy for the ones who work downtown so you don't have to go 10 blocks to get to your job. They've made such a mess of St. Petersburg that I just want to cry.
-- Patty Martin, Kenneth City

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