What is the sum of the coordinates of the midpoint of the segment with endpoints $(8, 5)$ and $(2, -1)$?
To find the midpoint of a segment, I need to average the corresponding coordinates of the endpoints. That means the midpoint's x-coordinate is $\frac{8 + 2}{2} = 5$ and the midpoint's y-coordinate is $\frac{5 + (-1)}{2} = 2$. The sum of these coordinates is $5 + 2 = 7$.

