LETTER: Elfman shows off word marksmanship

To the editor:

Almost nobody writes in about columnists, and rightly so. Readers gripe about hard news, which is easy to pick apart, rebut, opine on or whine about. They criticize and sharp-shoot. But I loved Doug Elfman’s column about Mr. and Mrs. G, who happily shoot arrows at one another in their Las Vegas show (“Crossbows keep it exciting for Mr. and Mrs. G.,” June 7 Review-Journal).

Think about it: The sometimes sensual combat between the sexes carried to the extreme. That is, questions about trust, who’s the better shot and hitting one another could run rampant in any partnership or marriage. Plus, you can tell that Mr. Elfman had fun with this story — and maybe there’s something he hasn’t told us. In any case, it was deft writing with sharp imagery, highly compressed, and the target revealed the couple’s and Mr. Elfman’s keen insight.

After this, connected readers can forget about Cirque du Soleil, Britney Spears’ “A Piece of Me” and other playfulness or deceit. As a love poet, I could never really fire Cupid’s dart, but neither could Shakespeare, so what chance do I have? On this story, Mr. Elfman really hit the mark.

LEE MALLORY

LAS VEGAS