海角大神

A hopeful story

The cover story 鈥淧ulling together鈥� in the Oct. 26 Monitor Weekly, written by Harry Bruinius about rower Arshay Cooper, is one of the most moving and inspirational articles I鈥檝e read in over 40 years of reading the Monitor. Hats off to Mr. Bruinius for his sensitive writing and to the Monitor for continuing to provide exceptional, hope-giving journalism in these contentious and troubled times.

John Wegmann
Port Angeles, Washington聽

Eschewing fear

Regarding the 鈥淔rom the editor鈥� column 鈥淟ooking past false choices鈥� in the Oct. 26 Monitor Weekly:聽Editor Mark Sappenfield, without writing the word 鈥渉ope鈥� itself, has penned here a perfect statement of what the Monitor鈥檚 journalism has always been all about: looking past false choices.聽The use of fear is shown to be a norm we readers must always eschew in favor of finding higher and right motives in our lives and our governments.聽We can and must have a certain sense that our country鈥檚 growth to that 鈥渕ore perfect union鈥� is a work in progress that will ultimately find success and equity for all.

David K. McClurkin
Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Picking up sports

Sue Wunder鈥檚 Home Forum essay 鈥淧roud to be included as 鈥榦ne of the guys鈥欌�� in the Sept. 14 Monitor Weekly took me back to 1947. I remember the year well because I had to leave my hometown of Roselle, New Jersey, to be with my mother in Phoenix. I was 11 and I flew with my 4-year-old brother; I can still remember what my mother looked like when we got off the plane.

In Roselle, my best friend and I shot baskets in the hoop attached to a garage and played softball with the boys at the field next to our elementary school. So when I found myself in Phoenix, I went down the street to the orange grove, where there were pickup games of softball going on. And for Christmas my father sent the only gift I asked for: a fielder鈥檚 mitt.

So thank you for the memory. Later on I had four boys and I even learned how to pass a football!

Janet L. Honecker
Wheeling, West Virginia