Mailbag

City Mail-in Ballot Denied Voters Secrecy

Tom Danehy commented that the mail-in vote is a "decay of the democratic process" (Nov. 3). That he is correct was driven home to me when I went to drop off my ballot on Nov. 8. I asked that I be able to separate my envelope from my ballot in order to keep my ballot secret. I was given a phone number to call at the Pima County Recorder's Office, where I eventually reached "Drake." I received many assurances that my ballot is surely secret, and there is no way this process could ever be corrupted.

I am sure Drake is an honest man. But he is employed by the government; he is an apparatchik. I have limited faith in the government and its processes.

Jeremy Vaughan


'Hemingway' Author Explains His Intentions

Hemingway: A Desperate Life (Books, Oct. 20) is meant to dramatize the fascinating feats and follies of a man who was such a complex mix of traits and problems that I am convinced he often could not distinguish between facts and fantasy, truth and lies.

Some who have dipped into my book assume that my ambivalence toward Hemingway, a refusal to accept the orthodox myth and celebrity, is to deny his greatness as a writer. That is by no means the case. I've simply, with years of research, tried to capture some of the drama of his life—the contradictions, the Falstaffian posturings, and his sufferings. This effort hardly dents the vast laudatory worship which the bare mention of his name excites. And some of his work justifies that reaction.

David Ray


Correction

In "The Trouble With Trucks" (Currents, Nov. 3), we included incorrect information about Marana Estates. The neighborhood started as 19 homes built in the 1950s as part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program, according to Marana community development director T. VanHook. The neighborhood currently has 27 homes, the largest it has ever been. We apologize for the mistake.