Letters: Nov. 25, 1985

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To the Editors: Garrison Keillor [SHOW BUSINESS, Nov. 4] has made me laugh and my husband cry on Saturday nights. If Keillor wants to be named The Sun God or King of America or even Idol of Millions, give it to him. Janis M. Houston Brush, Colo.

In a time when we put overwhelming demands on ourselves and others to be superstars, superheroes and superwomen, Keillor reminds us that most people are just plain folks. Jean-Paul Pegeron Ann Arbor, Mich.

Living in Yellow Medicine County (somewhat south-southwest of Mist County) has been good training for understanding the pathos of Keillor's humor, the essence of which is "It only hurts when I don't laugh." John W. Graber Burnsville, Minn.

Our family is scattered across the nation from Florida to California, but every Saturday we all get together in Lake Wobegon, Minn. Donna C. Noll Avon Park, Fla.

For a temporarily displaced Minnesotan, Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion is more than a Saturday-night entertainment. It is a two-hour break from the congestion, the frenetic consumerism and the looniness of California, a sort of "Radio Free Minnesota." Steve Anderson San Francisco

Congratulations on recognizing Garrison Keillor, one of Minnesota's great natural resources. We are proud that the nation finds humor and solace in hearing about the down-home values embraced by the residents of Lake Wobegon. But those values exist in real life, in hundreds of small towns and dozens of large cities in Minnesota. We welcome the rest of the nation to our well-kept secret: Minnesota is a great place to live and work. Rudy Perpich Governor, Minnesota St. Paul

A big-city boy now, I once lived in a small town like Keillor's Lake Wobegon. If you look more closely at the local charismatic characters, they invariably are vicious bigots of the worst sort. Ned Gross Sarasota, Fla.

As a longtime fan of Keillor's, I have often been struck by his meld of nostalgia with bitterness that reflects small-town life in the Midwest. We accept his barbs at our memories of narrow-minded ministers, spinster schoolteachers and children who try to comprehend the town's hypocrisy, simply because Keillor has the knack of laughing with us at our human frailties. He can make us think about our Minnesota forebears without hurting too much. Keillor is all of us who have left the old ways, but who recall the shimmering mists of childhood somewhere in the snow and wheatfields. John Scarborough Madison, Wis.

Keillor is one of the most gifted preachers around today. He entertains by relating simple gospel truths through fictitious stories that cut to the heart. His humor gently peels back the cover of human weakness to the point where it is laughable, lovable, forgivable and redeemable. His lies are the kind of modern parables any good preacher would love to imitate. (The Rev.) John William Bennison Clayton, Calif.