Has much going for it

In her column, “Lessons to learn from Savannah,” Karen Martin makes excellent, accurate points of fact. We could replace “Savannah” with any of several nice Southern cities such as Austin, Franklin, et al.

Little Rock has much going for it, unlike Memphis, Jackson, Montgomery and some other nearby cities. But it needs to promote and capitalize on its many positives. Physical beauty, ease of moving about the city and to nearby areas, a variety of outdoor activities, and unique cultural activities and organizations make it what we consider a really cool place to live … even a well-kept secret.

I lived in Memphis from 1984 to 2015. Talk about a depressing place to live. Memphis is No. 1 when it comes to putting all its negatives front and center yet doing little to nothing to make changes. It’s very political there. Its paper, now a shell of its former self, was always full of articles on crimes and issues of race. It was depressing to see it over and over and over for decades. Little wonder that Memphis’ population has been on the decline for 40 years.

It has been a breath of fresh air living in Little Rock. After multiple experiences with everything and everyone from the facility where you get your driver’s license and car tags, to the post office, to the grocery store, to the doctor’s office, to shopping, to our neighbors, we realized that everyone was about two standard deviations happier and friendlier here than in Memphis.

Let’s work to keep it that way. I hope the powers that be here pay some attention.

MARK MASSEY

Little Rock