The young and married and the long-married were equally enamored with our January 20 Weddings Issue. Hungry shoppers, frustrated teachers, and happy cougars also weighed in.
"I Do" in College
As an engaged 20-year-old college student, I wanted to extend my thanks for "Early to Wed" (January 20). It provided a view of my status often ignored by the complete strangers who criticize my decision to get married based on my age. My husband-to-be and I have been best friends since we were 9 and have planned on tying the knot for as long as I can remember. But, for some reason, the general public seems to think that marrying a person you've known for six months at age 27 makes more sense than marrying a person you grew up with at age 20. I would like to point out that not all young weddings happen for religious or cohabiting reasons. I already live with my fiance and, to greater upset the masses, we are an interfaith couple.
Jennifer Golden
Holliston
I read "Early to Wed" on my 40th anniversary. I was only 21 when the girl of my dreams and I married halfway through my junior year of college. She was an older woman (22) and had already graduated from the same college. Some said it would never last; others didn't know what to think. After we got married, my grades got much better and I had a stronger purpose as a student and husband. My wife is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Peter Cross
Hyannis
Toasting All Weddings
I expected to open up the Weddings Issue (January 20) and see at least one gay or lesbian couple. I can understand that it might have been hard to find a married gay or lesbian couple in college ("Early to Wed"), but surely you could have found one gay or lesbian couple who had been together for 30, 40, or 50 years ("The Forever Plan," on couples married 50 years or more). My husband and I (together for 30, married for 3.5) know many. OK, you would have had to change the rules a little because we have only been able to marry for three years, but would that have been such a stretch?
George Smart
Quincy
Hungry for Better
As a longtime resident of Plymouth, I look forward to a new choice for grocery shopping ("Building an Appetite," January 20), as all the markets in my area fail miserably in many categories. The most grievous failure is a lack of customer service. Hopefully the owners of the new supermarket at The Pinehills will recognize that the X factor will be the quality of their employees and their commitment to excellence in creating a superior shopping experience. Will it cost more to get quality people? Yup! Would I pay a bit more for non-sulky teenagers and un-squashed bread? You betcha!
Heather Cole
Plymouth
Regarding your article on The Pinehills market, which will be operated by Michael Szathmary: As a former frequent customer of Szathmary's market, Zathmary's, in Brookline, I recall that he closed both this store and his store in Needham Heights abruptly, leaving vendors with thousands of dollars in unpaid invoices. It certainly doesn't square with the positive portrait of Szathmary you offer.
Sam Solomon
Brookline
Editor's note: At the time of the stores' closing, Szathmary was no longer the owner of the stores.
Farewell, Home
I wish to thank Anne Donohue for her story about the demolition of her childhood home ("Perspective," January 20). I, too, grew up in Needham and I had to sell our family home of 43 years after our mother died. I only live 15 minutes away, so I periodically drive by to make sure the house is still there. Several of my childhood neighbors' houses have been replaced by McMansions and I feel sad when I see them. As an architect, I find it much more interesting and challenging to see how an old building can be reconfigured for new uses and new times rather than simply tearing it down and starting over.
Jim Vogel
West Roxbury
When we moved my parents out of Miami three years ago, I took my husband and kids to my childhood home there. Although I despaired a bit at seeing minor changes to the facade of the small house, I was able to point out my favorite haunts. We had fun, and I found some closure at a time when I was cutting ties to my hometown. We are currently living in my husband's childhood home, and we feel lucky. I hate to think that we could someday meet the fate of several of the families in our neighborhood, barely avoiding the wrecking ball as the moving van pulls out of the driveway.
Elisabeth Rittner Needleman
Newton
Having lived in 15 houses while I was growing up, none of them have quite the attraction or memories of a childhood home that Anne Donohue described so well. Still, returning to Billings, Montana, this summer, some 50 years after I had left, I was saddened to discover that four of the five houses in which I had lived were gone. They had not grown into McMansions, but into a commercial building, a parking lot, and a college baseball diamond, and the farmhouse and its fields had become an urbanized collection of homes, businesses, and streets such that it was impossible to tell where the farm had been. My grandchildren will have to be content with pictures and stories.
Robert Evans
Acton
Cougars Unite
What a great article ("Coupling," January 20). I, too, fell into cougardom. Somehow that term felt offensive at first, but now, being 43, I take it as a compliment. I have already been married, have one child, and completely enjoy my life. In fact, I coached my daughter's soccer team this fall and we called ourselves the Cougars. I explained to them that a cougar is "a girl/woman who knows what she wants." After all, isn't that true?
Maureen O'Connell
Boston
Unwelcome Runny Noses
I read the reader's suggestion to send a sniffly child to school with her own supply of tissues ("Miss Conduct," January 20), and while I agree with the spirit of the letter (nowadays teachers pay for far too many expenses out of their own pockets), I have to take exception to the substance: If your child is sick, keep your child home. I recently became a public school teacher. Previously, I had two head colds in 10 years; in the past three months of teaching, I've had two colds. I am astonished at the number of students (and teachers) who come to school when clearly they ought to be home in bed. I'm not entirely certain why we feel that showing up sick is somehow heroic, or that things will fall apart without us, but I can tell you that the world still manages to get by, even if you withdraw from it for a day or two.
Anne Markel
Cohocton, New York
