To the editor,
I was deeply touched by Joanna DelBuono’s farewell to Robin Williams (“Jo says goodbye to a friend she met on television,” Not for Nuthin’, Aug. 15).
I am still shocked by his suicide. Robin Williams was one person I thought would have clung to life no matter what. I still remember stories and pictures of Robin Williams clowning around Christopher Reeve’s hospital bed trying to encourage his paralyzed friend to keep on living. Why didn’t the memory of his friend’s courage and Reeve’s many accomplishments from his wheelchair give Robin a reason to go on living?
We just learned that Robin had Parkinson’s disease. Why didn’t he turn to his colleague, Michael J. Fox, who has been battling Parkinson’s and going on with a very successful life for more than 20 years? Robin, there was no need for you to give up. Like Michael, you could have had many more successful years ahead of you.
I agree with Joanna that “Sad Aid,” a public recognition of depression and other mental illnesses, would help all of us. It took more than 5,000 years of civilization for homosexuals to come out of the closet. Isn’t it time for those of us with mental problems to come out of the closet, too?
Shouldn’t we all, famous or not, feel free to turn to our friends, colleagues, and fellow humans for help no matter how sad, frightened or embarrassed we are? We all need help many times during our lives. Fortunately, we are never alone.Elaine Kirsch
Gravesend
Quizzing Stan
To the editor,
In a recent column, Stanley Gershbein asked a number of questions for his readers to think about (“Stan asks questions for many reasons,” It’s Only My Opinion, Aug. 1). I couldn’t help but notice that many of these questions were critical of the president and his administration.
Interestingly, not a single question concerned the United States Congress, whose approval ratings have sunk to all-time lows. So, in the interest of fairness and balance, I’d like to pose the following questions concerning that body that Mr. Gershbein could have asked but wouldn’t:
Why is the speaker of the house wasting taxpayer time and dollars suing the president when lawyers say he lacks standing to do so? Why has the Republican-controlled House held more than 50 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, while ignoring important matters such as immigration reform, job creation, and our crumbling infrastructure? Why has the speaker told the president to address the border crisis on his own while suing him for acting without Congressional approval? Why do Congressional Republicans continue to push for additional tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations while refusing to extend unemployment benefits and raise the minimum wage to a liveable level? Why have House Republicans taken off for the whole month of August? Are they tired from doing nothing?Arnold Kingston
Sheepshead Bay
Cheap eats
To the editor,
Are you over the age of 60? If not, but if you know folks who are, here’s a thought they might be interested in — delicious lunches for a buck and breakfasts for 50 cents.
Too many older people are not aware of the fact that lunches for seniors are $1, if gotten in churches, synagogues, club houses, etc. The meals are tasty and nutritious. They’re funded by the Department of the Aging! All one has to do is have a pencil and paper handy and phone 311. Tell the operator you’re interested in neighborhood senior centers, and give your zip code. You’ll get a few centers nearby.
Two friends and I decide every morning what we want for lunch, so then we know which center to go to that day. We have a choice of four in our area in Brooklyn. The food is delicious! Today we had thick chicken cutlets, rice with veggies, mixed salad with dressing, a slice of bread (sealed securely), and a dessert of cut-up watermelon — all for a buck.
Many centers also serve breakfast, for 50 cents. Too early for me, but here’s an example: Swiss cheese, oatmeal, cinnamon French toast, syrup, and an orange.
All meals (breakfast and lunch) are served with an eight-ounce container of one-percent milk, and fruit, with a great variety of food. Substitutes are always offered. Gosh, there’s scrambled eggs or hard boiled eggs or yogurt or turkey sausage patty, etc. There are also activities — one-day trips, concerts, trips to Long Island shopping centers, bingo games, and on Fridays there’s a disc jockey from 1 to 4 pm, and most of us dance to his fine music, included with our $1 lunch. The prices are very low because it’s all subsidized by the government. The price and the food are great, and the friendliness and harmony amongst diners keeps one smiling!Joan Applepie
Mill Basin
Respect authority
To the editor,
It has been said through the years that teachers and police know the city best. Both of these groups are now coming under fire for the simple reason that we have people out there who refuse to accept authority from both of them.
People need to be taught that you are to submit to authority figures and not look for confrontation. Unfortunately, we have people out there who look for trouble, as they and their families look for money in the form of lawsuits.
Parents, teach your children respect for authority so that when in school they may take advantage of the education offered to them and when they’re adults, they will become productive members instead of being incarcerated or dead.
Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Twisted menace
To the editor,
Mayor Bill DeBlasio wants to ban the long-time carriage horse tradition. A New York institution. He would be much better off banning the pretzel vendors. They are a legal lethal weapon. If you hit someone in the head with them they will die.
All the street vendors sell is high-cholesterol, blood pressure fat draped in salt.Name withheld upon request
Bathroom loo-nacy
To the editor,
Now that summer is at an end, the bathrooms on the Manhattan Beach Promenade will be closed. This makes no sense, due to the fact that the Boardwalk is occupied by families walking, seniors playing cards or Dominoes, and students who go to Kingsborough all year round.
There is a small bathroom that is kept open in the park down further, but it would make life a lot easier for people if the Parks Department could have the same people who maintain that bathroom to also keep the bathroom on the promenade open. Andrew Feinstein
Sheepshead Bay
Remembering 9-11
To the editor,
We have veered way off course after 9-11. Whatever happened to bringing the killers of those 3,000 people to justice?
Okay, Osama was killed, but there are many other terrorists who have replaced him. Even worse ones, if that is at all possible.
Even once-secular Muslim countries are becoming more Islamic. I was aghast to learn that the once-famously western government of Turkey has even criticized women for laughing in public because it is considered unseemly and not in keeping with the government’s religious views. These small building blocks to a strict Muslim society are going on largely unnoticed by the powers that be.
It seems that 9-11 was just the beginning of a dire period in our history. Each day we learn of new horrors, but we seem to have become immune to them. History has shown us that ignoring obvious evil is a recipe for disaster.L. Wilkinson
Ditmas Park
• • •
To the editor,
I am not Muslim, but I have gained enormous respect for the Muslim community after 9-11. Muslims have had to weather all kinds of disdain from the news media and from non-Muslims in general after the tragedy of 9-11.
But it’s a terrible shame that all Muslims have had to be held responsible for the ills of a few rotten apples. I live in a building with many Arabs, Sudanese, and Somalians, and they seem to be decent and respectful people with the same hopes and dreams like the rest of us.
If they seem a little suspicious, it’s probably just a reaction to all the suspicion that has been heaped on them from ignoramuses. Let’s live and let live. Maybe then, the world would be a better place.Ashley Smith
Midwood
