The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Letters Though he didn't know where he was going, Columbus wasn't so bad As an Italian-American, I feel compelled to defend Columbus and ask his bashers: Where would you be if Columbus hadn't discovered the Americas? And let's get a few facts straight. It was Queen Isabella I of Spain who made the trip possible, her soldiers who killed the natives, brought Columbus back in chains and made Spanish the language of the land. While Columbus was not a saint, it was the natives who introduced tobacco that has and still is killing hundreds of thousands of people every year. I must admit, Columbus didn't know where he was going, where he was or where he had been. But he did it all on borrowed money. Tony Di Leonardo Sunnyvale 'Spoonful of Sugar' can make the job of cleanup a game I had to write because I enjoy Deborah Taylor-Hollis' columns and usually agree with her, but I do have one question: Throw away toys because your son didn't clean them up as fast as you wanted? Like Taylor-Hollis, I have sons who I wish would clean up after themselves. I make cleanup a part of the play by 1) explaining that they can only play with toys if they put them back, 2) making cleanup a game (Did you ever hear Barney's "cleanup" song?), 3) letting them know they can't have treats/go on to the next activity without cleaning up and 4) rewarding them for cleaning up. I short, I make cleanup a positive experience. See Mary Poppins' "A Spoonful of Sugar." Taylor-Hollis wrote in her Sept. 23 column that she "felt like a heel" for throwing away her son's toy. I have other choice words for her, but I'll suggest that in the future she not damage the trust her son has placed in her. Think of the consequences you as an adult would face for something comparable. (If you skipped doing the dishes one night, would your husband throw them out?) And for god's sake, take a parenting class--you need it. Stephanie Landers San Jose [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 14, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.