Nothing to Enjoy

I appreciate the article on Canadian [“Tom Brown’s Body,” October 2020] and have followed the case since the week of the disappearance. I know almost all the main parties involved and have the highest respect for their families. The story hurts. It is full of pain and agony. It could happen to any of us and our communities, but it is the worst thing to happen to my hometown since I moved there in 1975.

I take exception to the closing statement in your editor’s letter [“Learning to Listen,” October 2020], which stated, “I hope you enjoy ‘Tom Brown’s Body.’ ” There is nothing to enjoy. It sucks. Not the story but the real pain that exists. I can’t imagine that you hope we enjoy it. Perhaps you meant “In the meantime, I hope you read the story and have empathy for victims of pain that can exist in our world. Hug your kids, and take time to care for your neighbor.”
Mark Cornett, Fredericksburg

Good point, Mr. Cornett. That was a poor choice of words on my part. Yours are much better.
—Dan Goodgame, editor in chief

Mystery Machine

Skip Hollandsworth has done it to me again with “Tom Brown’s Body.” I was sucked in on a Saturday morning among my daughters’ constant bickering in the background and my wife’s hurried, back-and-forth cleaning of every square inch of our house. I was oblivious to it all. There I sat in our front room for nearly two hours, taking restroom breaks all throughout, reading the details of Tom Brown’s disappearance and the aftermath investigation in the Panhandle town of Canadian. My heart grieves for Tom, his family, and his friends.
Cameron Stewart, Dallas

I’m looking forward to the latest installment of “Tom Brown’s Body.” The only way I’d agree that the Alamo monument could be moved is if they were replacing it with a statue of Skip Hollandsworth. His stories are probably 90 percent of the reason I subscribe to Texas Monthly. He’s a genuine Texas treasure, and while he wasn’t born here, neither was Davy Crockett (who was also born in North Carolina, albeit in an area that later became part of Tennessee).
Sean Starke, Austin

Brain Storm

A piece in this magazine [“Build the Ike Dike!,” October 2020] noted my yearslong efforts to secure our coastline while calling on Texas’s leaders to do more. As a U.S. senator for Texas, I’ve done everything in my power to further construction of coastal protection along the Gulf. I’ve authorized and secured full funding for the Texas coastal study required before construction can begin, and I’ve spearheaded a law to expedite the study’s completion, expected next spring. Once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes the study, I can fight to secure federal funding for their recommended project. But until then, the coastal spine is in the hands of those conducting the study, fully funded and expedited through my efforts.
John Cornyn, Austin