Letters to the Editor
BeachBum
Published Letters: 37 Editor's Choice: 9
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It's still a good read. Advice for addicts it ain't.
[Read the article: A million bogus fabrications]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's hardly news that an addict has a tenuous relation to the truth. What's more damaging about Frey's nonfiction masquerade is that others who need help will take seriously the author's "Will to Power" program of recovery. Testing the strength of one's will with a full glass of whiskey under the nose, as Frey claims to have done, isn't a recipe for lasting recovery for many people who are truly alcoholics or addicts.
The faith-based program that Frey rejects is NOT the only way to overcome addiction. But even major alternatives such as rational emotive therapy acknowledge that the addict must CHANGE to have decent odds of survival. I hope for Frey's sake that he avoids a return to addictive hell.
I stopped believing that A Million Tiny Pieces was a True Story a couple dozen pages into the book, but still I found it difficult to put down. Frey's writing carries emotional truth, and his slapdash style well conveys the urgency of a young addict. I, too, plan to read his second book. I won't recommend his stuff as a blueprint for anyone else's life. But I can't find it in me to get too terribly appalled that a publisher would print made-up events.
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They deserve one another
[Read the article: During the blizzard, I refused to shelter my friend]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Whew - I was afraid Cary was slumping lately with all the real life problems and so little of the "LWs behaving badly" I had come to enjoy. Glad THAT'S over.
So, this was a fabulous letter, not just because of LW's selfishness. Look at the friend, bitching about LWs choice to anyone who'll listen! WTF? LW made her priorities clear. Frozen Friend's feelings were hurt by LW leaving him in the cold. LW is rationalizing her bad decision, which might have been either a "wow, I didn't realize it was that important to FF to be at my place" miscalculation or a "God, I don't want that needy whiny mess hanging around on my one day alone with BF."
FF's subsequent actions give us a clue. If it's a misunderstanding between true friends they can and should work it out in a private conversation. If FF thinks hanging LW out to dry on the Wall of Shame will change things for the better, the "friendship" probably wasn't all THAT to begin with.
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Volunteer.
[Read the article: Daddy dilemma]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Taking on an 18+ year commitment with an ambivalent partner is no solution for a man who worries he won't find his career fulfilling.
If it's fulfillment he wants, he can make a difference in the lives of dozens if not hundreds of kids by vounteering with one of the hundreds of programs serving children and youth. And he'll still get to go out for a margarita without packing for a stroller journey or finding a sitter.
As youth volunteers Larry and Piper may discover they like kids so much they starts a foster home. They might find the dream of children is better, for them, than the reality. Or they might learn enough about themselves to know that children are right for them -- not because all their friends have them or the nursery decor improves the ambience -- but because the work of parenting is in fact the fulfillment of their lives and skills.
Signed, a happy childless volunteer,
- Bum
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"Man" proves folly of open letters
[Read the article: I single-handedly conquered Sweden. Now what?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm seeing more and more garbage in Letters like the bilious spew from "Man." Perhaps it's time for Salon to acknowledge open letters as a failed experiment, and remove the feature. Of course, that would leave blank space that Salon would have to fill by bringing back content.
Such as Anne Lamott, Arianna Huffington, and Camille Paglia. For starters.
Is anyone here planning on renewing when the Premium subscription next comes around? I'm having trouble finding a good reason to shell out 30 bucks for dwindling professional content replaced by self-submitted crap in Letters.
- Bum
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Low Ratings? Uh, how many six-packs of beer does this column sell, anyway?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I sure wish someone would give me a salary to write in a daily column how I don't care for the flavor of sweet potatoes! Put "Yams Suck" in the headline, and yam-lovers all over the world will be frothing at the mouth, writing supercilious letters about the thinking person's root vegetable. And, most important, reading my writing!
The whole foofawraw would obscure the fact that it's hardly breaking news whether a writer enjoys a particular vegetable. But what fun it would be to sucker a few dozen readers into caring about my likes and dislikes.
King's suggestion that TV ratings have anything to do with the quality of the show's content can be rebutted by two words: American Idol.
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Tiger
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is that the guy who rode 2200 miles on a gimpy hip faster than 140 others? Or just another weenie in a collared shirt who's conned people into caring how he recreates for a weekend?
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The Southwest Secret
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Patrick puts his finger on the core issue when he talks about the "attentiveness and dedication" of airline employees. The reason passengers like me have been flocking to Southwest over the past dozen years -- despite the pre-boarding lineup and the peanut-pack food service -- goes beyond that airline's low prices. Southwest has managed to create an airline culture in which most employees enjoy their jobs and care about the passenger experience.
No amount of restructuring by the major carriers will make them competitive unless they address the simple fact that a corporate culture that demeans and devalues employees can't help but result in a service that demeans and devalues customers.
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How did Anon and Avery figure out....
[Read the article: Getting beyond our airport security obsession]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That Timothy McVeigh was "of Middle Eastern descent?" He looked awfully Euro to me.
More important, how would an airport profiler nail him as a bomber? DNA for all?
- Bum
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Life lived with a passion....
[Read the article: Racing hearts]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]does NOT have to involve running with an anti-Semitic and misogynistic crew like the prize hunka-hunka described in the article. If the author had any stones she'd tell Senor Cervantes-Quoter to find better-behaved running buddies, or run alone.
- Bum