Tom Cruise has gone, in my book, from a decent-looking forgettable actor who had the luck to act alongside others who made up for his inadequacies, to a full-fledged crackpot. He was never a favorite, but now I'd go out of my way to avoid him. He gives me the creeps. I could not imagine him in any movie part without seeing through to the truly odd human playing the role. I hope he enjoys his retirement from the big screen in his tinfoil hat. And I sincerely hope that Katie Holmes, who seems like a sweet girl sucked into a vortex, will wake up one day, smell the coffee, and leave so she can get her life back.

If you've read the Harry Potter novels, Dudley Dursley (Harry's muggle cousin) is a case in point of the rich-boy bully, completely the darling of his besotted parents, who grows up to be violent in an atmosphere of overindulgence. Admittedly, Dudley is a fictional character, but I think the question Sullivan is asking is a valid one. How do we avoid bringing up little Dudleys who grow up to be extremely large Dudleys, terrorizing all the children in the neighborhood, vandalizing thing, all under the nose of his parents who refuse to see?

Of course Dudley is not a rapist. Harry Potter is childrens literature, after all. But he is a bully, he's the leader of a gang, he has other kids who hold down the smaller ones while he hits them. It's quite easy to see the source of Dudley's ills in Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, who have given him everything he ever wanted or even pointed at.

I think it's terribly easy as a parent to become blind to our children, to think them perfect, wonderful, unique, and splendid, when they may actually not be so at all. Sullivan asks great questions. The level of anger in this stream of letters is a bit bewildering.

...in the second grade, and is writing his first report. We've been dutifully spending our evenings looking up facts on Australian penguins--what they eat, where they live, what their enemies are.

I never said a word about it, but he explained to me in great detail how he wasn't allowed to copy right out of the book, he had to use his own words. He understands at age eight that the book's words aren't his own words.

There is no excuse for a 17 year old at Harvard to not know the same thing. No amount of pressure from greedy publishing companies changes that.

My parents visited Ireland on vacation a few years back. Even then, gas (translated to US dollars and US gallons) was about $6 or $7. I'm sure it's higher now.

My parents tell the story of the woman who owned the Bed and Breakfast where they stayed, climbing into her car (little 4-door economy car) with THREE other ladies, to go to the nearest town to do their shopping. Four ladies, one car, one trip. Dad said they came back absolutely packed in to the ceiling with all their shopping. Yet they didn't see this as anything out of the ordinary. They did it once a week.

To Americans, used to the luxury of climbing in our cars to return a video and grab a quart of milk, this seems like heresy. And Ireland is considered a first world country.

It seems like we will have to begin inhabiting that circle of hell (the inconvenient one) if only to join the rest of the world.

But pardon me. I'm off to a doctor appointment. Gotta go climb in the car or I'll be late.

Filled up my Jeep last night for $54. I know, I know, it's an SUV. But no, it's not a Hummer, it's a 9-year-old Jeep Cherokee Sport full of squashed goldfish crackers, sippy cups, and overdue library books. It seemed like a good idea at the time (1997) and now it's paid for. Given how far a tank of gas goes for city/suburban driving, it's about 25 cents a mile to drive (not including oil changes or maintenance).

However... I'm not going out to buy a Prius or a Honda Civic any time soon, for the simple reason that the Jeep is paid for. No payments. For those of us on a budget, driving older cars (no matter how fuel-inefficient) is a fact of life until they wear out. I'm stuck with this car until it either wears out on its own, or until gas gets so high ($5? $10? I don't know) that having car payments again will begin to look attractive over what I'm paying at the pump. $3 a gallon hurts, but a whole lot less than car payments would.

CAFE regulations are great, but they take a long time to show their effectiveness in the nation's current fleet of cars. Besides... so say I bought a Prius. Who's going to buy my Jeep and drive it? Somebody will. It will still be on the road, sucking down gas, and I will have spent the resources to build a new car.

I'd like to see us take the lead on other issues that would have an effect today, now. Things like increased funding for sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic signals for pedestrians, safe pedestrian/bike routes to schools, frequent bus service, and incentives for carpooling. CAFE regulations won't do it all. What about a tax deduction for bicycle purchase or repair?