“Privilege ‘is not something we deserve, or are worthy of, and it is certainly not an excuse to turn a blind eye to the vastly different circumstances that one in five Memphians live under,” letter writers Jude Downing and Sophia Overstreet say. 

A letter from a pastor laments the chasm between ‘haves and have nots’ in the Memphis area. Another missive, from two high school students, says free childcare and better public transportation would go a long way toward helping poor families.

As a scout, it’s up to you. If the food you make is inedible, you and your fellow scouts don’t eat. If you pitch your tent in the wrong place, you and your tentmate are going to get wet. If you don’t reach down to help, no one else climbs up.

‘Those whose careers and income streams remained intact see the pandemic very differently than those who have lost their vocations and their income, and fear losing their homes,’” writes Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells.

As people wait hours for their vaccine appointment time, they end up leaving without a shot in the arm and a head full of frustration.

The answer is simple and it also stings. It’s in Nashville because Nashville asked for it.

One letter writer praised the Shelby County Health Department’s management of vaccine distribution at Lindenwood Christian Church.

‘David Kustoff does not deserve to serve in the Congress for one more day,’ writes Louis R Pounders.

‘Many thanks to Dr. Alisa Haushalter and her team for upholding these values in the midst of a health care crisis,’ Barbara Holden Nixon writes.

Joe Sills — a legendary high school band director throughout West Tennessee — died of COVID-19. His former students are gathering to play a graveside concert in his honor Saturday. One of them will be playing Sills’ own silver trumpet. 

From humble beginnings to home run king, Hank Aaron, who died on Jan. 22, left a legacy. He even found time for a brief stopover in Memphis and hit a home run in a football stadium.

A UT devotee remembers a heart-stopping 1968 game, but says, “This time around, I’m a Georgia fan.”

‘The point is not to determine the merits of public education versus private education. Why can’t we champion both?’

The new president’s inaugural address called for unity and a lowering of the political temperature while still drawing some firm lines. Joe Biden said that “politics need not be a raging fire” and called for an end to an “uncivil war.”

As we look ahead with hope, we must also look back and demand accountability.

Citizens all over greater Memphis – all over the country – watch over things every day, caring enough about all of us to make sure the greater good is served by the maintenance of the things we care about.

Plus, Zach Randolph’s honor, a case for Scooby Doo, and restaurants that are gone but not forgotten.

Carrying Christian symbols in the midst of violent attacks and mob rule insults our Christian faith. Crosses and signs saying “Jesus Saves” are blatantly out of place as our nation faces insurgency and rebellion.

On Jan. 20, 2009, there was remarkable unity and mutual respect among those in an inauguration crowd estimated at 1.8 million. Now, 12 years later, Jan. 20 promises to be a day of anticipation mixed with anxiety.

You’re entrusting a tax preparer with sensitive information, so it’s important to do your due diligence in choosing one.

“Many of us have already been living paycheck to paycheck, doing everything we can to make ends meet before the pandemic hit. Now, our hours are being cut due to the pandemic and we were already struggling to make rent and put food on the table.”

“I never thought that the trappings of congressional power or Trump’s dominating and vindictive personality would turn the principled guy I’ve known and liked for years into a political lapdog.”

An exhibit that opened recently marks the half-century anniversary of one of American culture’s more colorful and peculiar moments. 

What is the single rose we can take from that pile of a year? As hopeful as it may be, it’s not the vaccine.

Jonah McCoy, 8, is a patient at St. Jude. He could teach us a thing or two.