海角大神

Prior colonization

Regarding the May 29 OneWeek article 鈥�To colonize space, start close to Earth鈥�: Establishing an outpost on Mars is in no way comparable to the settling of North America. All the essentials will need to be taken there, and there may be absolutely nothing there that can help humans survive.

I see this Mars settlement as nothing more than a black hole to pour money into. This money can be better spent here. Finally, settlement in North America had a lot of loss of life. Are we willing to accept these losses?

Ted Quirk

Oak Harbor, Wash.

New plan

Regarding the May 29 Upfront column, 鈥�How we鈥檙e addressing your website concerns鈥�: It must be hard to try and please so many different readers. Thanks for trying! I understand and agree that a paper (or any business that employs people and has expenses) must make a profit and be sustainable in the face of some readers鈥� preference to not pay for news. I support your plan to back off a bit from free news and to strive for distinction and continued quality in the face of so much other 鈥渘ews鈥� that comes all throughout our day.

Kate Knox

Fort Collins, Colo.

Travel experiences

Regarding 鈥�8 paradises found,鈥� the May 29 cover story: While I enjoyed reading all the travel stories of Monitor writers, the one about Slovakia brought back memories. When I was a college student in the 1970s, I spent a semester in Germany. I then put out my thumb, going from Munich, Germany, to Italy and then on to what was then Yugoslavia. I traveled by train and hitchhiked down the Dalmatian Coast, stopping overnight in Split. The host of a summer resort about to open treated me to dinner on the beach. We ate fresh-caught fish and drank Turkish coffee. Yes, traveling to off-the-beaten-path locations can open up one鈥檚 senses as never before.聽

Janice Gintzler

Crestwood, Ill.