Letter of the day: Why pick on Wally the Beer Man?

Every time I've gone to a Twins game, Metrodome or Target Field, I've been amazed at how hard the concessionaires work. Their cries of "Popcorn, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, get your cold beer!" is a sort of Midwestern mantra. For me, it's like baseball and Bob Dylan -- something that has always been there. And I marvel at the fact that, at one time, those beer vendors carried beer in real glass bottles. So, as a Minnesotan and an American, I was both astounded and embarrassed that Wally the Beer Man was recently busted in a Target Field sting operation for selling a beer to an underaged patron ("Wally the Beer Man is outta here," Oct. 2). I had no idea Wally posed this sort of threat to our country, nor did I realize that law enforcement had this kind of time on its hands. Speaking as one who has worked and played in the Warehouse District since 1978 and has seen that area growing increasingly more dangerous, I was astounded that the powers that be would target the dark forces fomenting within the stadium walls. To cure crime is one thing; to create it is another. And that is, simply, what has been done here. Wally is the Sam Mele of Suds, a living bridge from Met Stadium to the Metrodome to Target Field. As the unofficial mascot of the Twins, he has worked longer and harder on their behalf than anyone I can remember. There are enough problems in the world. Wally isn't one of them. While I am happy that Wally is now working at Sneaky Pete's, justice has not yet been done. So let's put Wally back to work at Target Field and realize there are bigger fish to fry. The next time I hear a vendor shout, " Cold BEER here!," I want it to be Wally.PAUL METSA, musician, Twins fan and beer drinker; Minneapolis