Being a Chicagoan, I have to thank you for the profile of Don de Grazia (“A Chicago `Import,’ ” May 7). Living out of town, I don’t get the papers much, but a friend sent last week’s Tribune Magazine to win a bet that there are writers left to pump life into Chicago.
The only publishing fluke to consider in this scenario is that “American Skin” is a book that truly deserves the attention it has gotten.
— Vassie Watts, New York
A SHOCKING `ESSENTIAL’
While idly glancing at the cute, small purses in your Fashion section (May 7), I was shocked to read the accompanying blurb. It read that these purses held just the essentials: “cell phone, lipstick, toothbrush, condoms, a platinum card and a $100 bill.” Condoms! Am I reading a stupid and amoral magazine or that fine family newspaper, the Chicago Tribune? Where are your editors? Where are your standards? Do you realize what sort of message you are sending out with this tripe you are printing? I hope we will see no more of this.
— Mary Neufeld, Crete
SO THAT’S WHERE IT IS
Regarding the store called Yesterday in Rick Kogan’s May 7 Sidewalks column: I recall walking into that store many years ago and the first words that were spoken to me by the man behind the counter were: “We’ve got everything that your mom made you throw out.”
— J. Brown, Evanston
HANNIBAL LECTURE
You must be desperate for candidates for your Fast Track feature to have settled for Robby Roseman (April 23). That he is not a celebrity does not bother me. That he seems so shallow and appears to be a prime example of the “dumbing down of America” does. He should be embarrassed to have his comments, not to mention his photo, out there for the world to see.
Didn’t we all learn in school that Hannibal took elephants with him when he crossed the Alps? Yet this fellow is “shocked” that he was asked this as the first question on the game show rather than the usual “easy” question. To make matters worse, when he used a lifeline, how they decided on llamas for one of the two choices I cannot imagine. Not only was the animal not to be found in that part of the world (neither was the elephant, but it was from an accessible area), but there was no way to obtain such an animal and transport it.
In future, please stick to featuring familiar personalities. Celebrities can be as shallow as the next person, but at least we know who they are.
— Barbara Murtha, Chicago
VALUE OF COURTSHIP
Congratulations to the Kasses (“The Quest for Commitment,” April 16) as they tackle the topic of courtship in their class at the University of Chicago. Jason Berry’s article was well worth passing on to our daughters. You can find novels, however, which portray life with values; check out “A Light in the Window” by Jan Karon (Penguin USA), a charming courtship tale and the second in her Mitford series.
— M. Anderson, Blue Island
WHY BE COY?
In all the years I’ve been reading Fast Track, it just occurred to me that so many women interviewed did not give the year of their birth. Why be so silly? If you look good for your age, good for you. Age has nothing to do with your appeal to most discriminating people. Many celebrities do not reach the height of their fame until they are older and wiser.
— Dorothy Farnsworth, Chicago
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