Iconoclast! Lovely word, but my post here is to bring my many minions to currency on my worthy crusade...

As he said he would, Russ Fine read my story about the silly censorship of the word "Christmas" by the Birmingham Public Library Administration on his radio/TV show Monday morning. But if he posted it on his website I couldn't find it. Russ and Dee's website is a bit jumbled and besides, during that very morning the television station pulled the plug on Russ and Dee's television program and as of last Friday Russ and Dee can now only be heard on radio.

Some of you would like Russ and Dee. They advertise themselves as the Voice of Alabama.
Transplanted Yankees, they insinuated themselves into polite Alabama society about twenty years ago and have become a staple of the morning drive among literate rednecks in northern Alabama.
To give you an idea of the relationship between Russ and Dee and their listeners last week one such listener (I think it was Robert Earl from Cullman) phoned in this crude but poignant holiday greeting...

For all you do
Jew Baby, Jew boy
We love you.

A clip of Robert Earl’s call now serves as a promo and lead-in into their radio show.


But anyway the upshot of all this is that the hours of their radio show were filled with callers cussin’ WIAT CBS and offering tea and sympathy to Russ and Dee for being kicked off TV, so in that climate my tirade against the Grinches at the public library received short shrift.

Un- deterred I wrote a letter to the Birmingham Library asking about their Christmas decoration policy.

Yesterday I received by email this reply...
___________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Washington,
Having just returned to work from celebrating the Christmas and New Year's Holidays, I am responding to your comment concerning the absence of the word Christmas in the library's displays. Unfortunately, since the Birmingham Public Library consists of two Central buildings and 20 branches located throughout the City, I am not certain as to which building you are referring to.
Nevertheless, allow me to respond with the following general statement:

At the Central Library where my office is housed, I think we did the normal things such as hanging wreaths, decorating the desks with Poinsiettas, decorating the Christmas trees, etc. I did not recognize a change from previous years. Since I did not visit all 20 of the other locations, I cannot speak to what they did or did not do.
Here's hoping that your Christmas was just as wonderful as mine!

Barbara Sirmans, Director
Birmingham Public Library
barbara@bham.lib.al.us
(205) 226-3614 (Wk Phone)
(205) 226-3743 (Fax)
_________________________________________________

Now what? The bloom is off my ire but the condescensional tone of Bureaucrat Sirmans needs addressing...?

Mmm. Maybe I'll email her back and tell her that she misspelled "poinsettia".
.