Letters

I loved your article "Pack a Lunch, Save a Bundle" (March 15). I'm from a different culture, so it's hard to know what our food options are in a new place. Indian food is not easy to carry to work and certainly not easy to eat discreetly. Plus, I am not hands-on enough with sandwiches and salads to know how to mix and match ingredients.

S. Ganguly / Somerville

I had to laugh when I saw the article juxtaposed with the smaller "Eat in Style" story featuring lunch sacks ranging from $25 to $58. It reminded me of a part in the novel Confessions of a Shopaholic when the character decides to save money by cooking at home, only to go out and spend a small fortune on cooking tools. Reused plastic containers from stores coupled with their shopping bags would be a better suggestion.

Georgana Tocco / Saugus

Rough Riding

Great piece on strollers and wheelchairs on the T ("Parenting Traps," March 15). Scary stuff, those long dark hallways. In my power wheelchair, I have had the same experiences. It has befuddled me and infuriated me that the MBTA has not made an easy change: Put up new signs, and make them accurate.

Liz Casey / Roslindale

The T should make handicapped access a true priority at every station. No excuses -- just do it. It's been nearly 19 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed.

Larz F. Neilson /

East Boothbay, Maine

I don't drive, so I need the T to get to medical appointments and other places. Strollers are such a menace. People with them get on buses, sit in front, and block the aisles. One time, three women got on, each with a stroller. People boarding after them had to pay their fares, then reboard at the back of bus

so they could have a seat. The driver could not have cared less.

Lois Spencer / Quincy

Fresh Face

Charles Pierce seems to insinuate that only middle-aged men born in South Boston can be a true city mayor ("Pierced," March 15). A candidate does not have to wait for many generations until his or her family masters a Boston accent. I am not talking about whether Sam Yoon is qualified here. The voters will decide if three to four years of councilor experience is enough. But we just elected a first-term senator as president. So why not?

Y. Joon Lee / Arlington

Big Distinction?

Regarding the essay "You, Only Different" ("Coupling," March 15), have you heard this old saying: Man marries woman thinking she will not change, but she does; woman marries man thinking that he will change, but he does not.

Sam Chapin / Hingham

Left Cold

Charles Pierce's opinion of the Sarah Palin campaign's use of donations to ensure an appropriate presentation of a "hockey mom" to American voters seems a bit off ("Hockey Town," March 8). Instead of choking, Imelda Marcos might have turned green with envy knowing Sarah's supporters actually approved. Mr. Pierce should not sully a potentially interesting article about community sports with his liberal, misplaced invective.

Kerry Ouellette /

Epping, New Hampshire

Date Aid?

I have been reading

"Dinner With Cupid" every week with curiosity about when (if ever) two people are going to continue seeing each other. But today it dawned on me that my annoyance goes deeper than the repeated "not again, thanks" endings. I wonder what anyone is supposed to get from these columns. Confirmation that meeting the right person is hard? An opportunity to laugh at the weirdness of someone else's date? If the intention is to help people make a connection, why not try a different approach altogether and invite readers to write about what worked in an initial meeting that led to another? Maybe those responses would show others how to make new connections in the real, and sometimes lonely, world.

K.C. Pierce / Marblehead

Immediate Pain

No one will ever truly understand how hard it is to navigate the scary world of healthcare until he or she has a sick loved one ("Perspective," March 8). A child in a NICU, a parent getting chemo, an illness on vacation -- it causes such fear. Then you get the bills and explanation of benefits; be afraid of those, too. Thanks for that article.

Tricia McSweeney /Ashland