Regarding the article of October 22 “Lewiston artists defend ‘mushies’ paint on electrical box after councilor says it encourages drug use“, singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb – known for hits such 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 won four Grammy Awards in 1968. This feel-good hit was not without controversy: radio stations in a few predominantly conservative markets, including including Oklahoma City’s Webb, refused to play. the song because they thought it was a coded homage to illegal drugs.

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

Fifty-seven years later, a city councilor in Lewiston – the hot air balloon capital of Maine – seems unable to accept that a painting of mushrooms on an electrical box is not an invitation to light up and give up, but simply a tribute to the delicious and nutritious mushrooms that many of us love to eat.

I say, “Eat them if you have them,” and I would love to see some mushroom-themed public art where I live.

Adrian Dowling
South Portland

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