Regarding the Oct. 22 article “Lewiston artists defend ‘mushies’ painting on the electrical box after councilor claims it promotes drug use,” singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb – known for such hits as “Wichita Lineman” and “MacArthur Park” – was so inspired by the beauty and adventure of hot air ballooning that he wrote “Up, Up and Away” in 1967.

The song was recorded by The 5th Dimension later that year, and it won four Grammy Awards in 1968. The feel-good hit wasn’t without controversy: radio stations in a few predominantly conservative markets, including Webb’s own Oklahoma City, declined to play the song because they assumed it was a coded tribute to illegal drugs.

Those program directors and station managers were so cynical that they couldn’t fathom the idea that a cheerful song about hot air balloons had no ulterior motive.

Fifty-seven years later, a city councilman in Lewiston – Maine’s hot air ballooning capital – seems unable to accept that a painting of mushrooms on an electric utility box is not an invitation to turn on and drop out, but merely an homage to the delicious and nutritious fungi so many of us like to eat.

I say, “Eat ’em if you’ve got ’em,” and I’d be delighted to see some mushroom-themed public art where I live.

Adrian Dowling
South Portland