Through misted eyes, I have just finished Helen Troisi Arney’s poignant story, “Holding Hands” (July 20). Being married only four years, I never really put much thought into such things. I know my husband’s hands give a comforting back rub, serve me tea in bed when I’m sick, fix things around the house and hold me securely before sleep each night. For all the times we simply hold hands, I realize now that will never be enough!
So excuse me while I go in search of my groom, as there are a couple of things I need to commit to memory before the day comes where I may no longer be able to appreciate what I have.
Patrice Mullen, Midlothian
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Chicago Tribune for printing such a beautiful tribute from a wife to her husband. I am touched by Mrs. Arney’s honest expression of the love she and her husband shared throughout their journey.
In our current environment of negativity toward the traditional family and spirituality, Mrs. Arney’s words are truly meaningful. I pray that this high-tech, accelerated-pace, throwaway world of today will never lose sight of the simple, perfect beauty of hands, and a wife’s unique ability to feel the warmth of love in her husband’s touch.
Mary McGlinchey, Park Ridge
I so wish my husband were here to again hold my hand. Thank you, Helen.
LaVerne M. Mannella, Chicago
IS HONESTY THAT UNUSUAL?
Although somewhat wordy, the article celebrating Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (“The Name is Jesse–as in JUNIOR,” July 13) was nevertheless quite revealing. The opening tidbit, concerning the exasperating suburban Dixmoor Park Police request for $10 million in federal funds in order to guard a near- vacant playground, and Jackson’s subsequent refusal to back it, set the tone for the rest of this obviously complimentary commentary.
Jackson’s reaction to Dixmoor’s pork barrel request was commendable, but really nothing more than what any honest representative of the people would do in a similar situation.
Al Carli, Chicago
A TRUE CONSPIRACY
Parents need not be warned about inadequate day care. They need to be warned about inadequate parenting. Patrick Garry’s article “The Conspiracy” (July 6) truly enraged me. People today are too concerned with their prestigious lifestyles to contemplate the importance of the well-being of their children. After working in a proclaimed high-quality day-care center, I now have good reasons for my disgust with the day-care system and society as a whole.
The employees who take care of day-care children may be poorly educated and impatient. However, I cannot sympathize with parents ignorant of the responsibilities they earned with the arrival of a child. Children are in need of excellent care and attention, and the only way to ensure this is through excellent parenting. What is the point in having a child if one just throws him into day care for the first 10 years of his life?!
Perhaps Garry is right to criticize modern day care, but the reason children are forced to dwell in these jails is the fault of the parents. Garry states that adequate day care is the fulfillment of parental rights. Day care is not a parental right; it is an excuse for poor parenting and a fulfillment of the pathetic American dream: to work and be happy at the expense of the children.
Kathy Weissman, River Forest
I found “The Conspiracy” one of the most offensive newspaper pieces I have ever read. Having put down parents who deliberately delay parenthood and then work to achieve it, Garry then alludes to day care as a backup to birth control!
The Tribune Magazine has dealt sensitively and intelligently with a variety of pressing social issues. Contemporary child-rearing is certainly open to criticism, but day care deserves better than Patrick Garry’s sarcastic sneers.
Helen D. Lipson, Chicago
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