Letters
Is 'King Vendor' a worthy topic?
I have not even finished reading the April 10 issue of the Saratoga News because I am so disgusted by Oakley Brooks' article, "King Vendor," that I must respond to it.
I fail to see any merit in this gratuitous showcasing of some kid who made it big. I kept waiting for the part of the article that would talk about the good things the grown-up Alan Aerts is giving back to the community with all of his vending machine loot. Instead I ended up reading over a three-page spread on a self-indulgent, conspicuous consumer who wouldn't even give a dime to save a piece of Monte Sereno and Santa Clara Valley history, but who will spend like a Home Shopping Network junky on schlocky holiday decorations for the front yard of his Monte Sereno home. I wonder if his neighbors look forward to the holidays as much as he does?
What exactly was the point of this article? What portion of its content qualified it as your cover story? Am I the only one who missed something or was Oakley Brooks simply pointing out that even a little town like Monte Sereno can run with the big dogs like San Jose and allow a slice of rural life to be paved over and replaced with all the glamour of a trailer park? If that was his intention, he succeeded beyond his own expectations. In my opinion, however, Brooks' article was a waste of valuable space in your paper, and a waste of valuable time out of my day.
David N. Ralph
San Jose
Applauding hard work of blended families
I've just finished Sandy Sim's article about the psychological and emotional struggles of living within a blended family (Saratoga News, April 10). In my opinion, she did an excellent job of highlighting the issues we currently face as a society and civilization.
When I became a licensed marriage, family and child therapist in the mid-1970s, like many novice therapists of that era, I tended to regard this phenomena of family life as an adjunct clinical issue to the deeper psychological issues for which people sought counseling. Today, in the year 2002, it is the major presenting issue I see every week in my work with children, adults, couples and families. Its pervasiveness and impact on the lives of the people I see feels painful and overwhelming to me at times.
As Sandy's article noted, the statistical outcomes for success in blended families are very grim. Paradoxically, I find it rewarding to have shared in my clients' struggle to heal despite such pronouncements. My awareness of their efforts and desire to heal has filled large gaps in my professional training and has led me to discover much about the resiliency, depth and strength of the human spirit. Articles such as Sandy's, combined with peoples' grit and determination to emerge from this existential quagmire, continue to affirm my sense of appreciation for the hard-won successes I have witnessed. Thanks for publishing her article at this particular time.
Stacy Smith
Los Gatos
Forget the pledge, target the media
In regard to my response to the April 24 letters to the editor from Mr. Feemster and Ms. Hocker, it seems reciting the Pledge of Allegiance a thousand times has worked wonders on Mr. Feemster.
In grasping for insults, he attributes my thoughts on the pledge to a poor relationship with my family. Grasp away, Feemster--you're way off base. Seems, though, by saying "I love you" enough times to your wife, she finally came to believe it. Was it five times per day?
If Feemster often feels the need to recite the pledge, he should do it privately. However, tradition dictates the pledge must be recited out loud, with many others, like sheep, pledging simultaneously--undoubtedly for crowd reinforcement. But patriotic Americans don't need to recite the Pledge of Allegiance--they certainly didn't before 1892.
Most of Mr. Feemster's letter consisted of insulting innuendos, corny patriotisms, and holier-than-thou advice even a child could see through. Not good ways to seek truth, eh? Now, if Ms. Hocker really thinks I'm a left-leaning liberal, she might peruse my scribbles at www.nutri.com. My thoughts on terrorism, the pro-life movement, America's gene pool, Hitler and cloning might surprise her.
Instead of wasting time with the pledge, our energies should be directed at the media, who are inundating us with tsunamis of sex, violence and vulgarity that America's latest generation seems incapable of handling. Media executives whose persuasions substitute profit for moral restraint, and vote-hungry politicians afraid of stepping on toes are also guilty.
Oscar Falconi
Saratoga
Saratoga, California Since 1955
