Shifting Sands Jennifer L. Schwartz shows in “Surrender the Sand?” that she obviously knows nothing about oceanographic and coastal geologic processes like deposition, longshore drift, and the seasonal cycles of sand moving along the shoreline (Perspective, September 20). Does she know the difference between a terrace and platform? One is erosional and one is depositional, and beaches cycle through them every year. What erodes from one area is deposited in another. Should we evacuate New England because another glacial period is certain? If someone’s shore protection structure fails, fine, it’s their problem. Don’t spend public money on it. But please stop the stupidity that the entire coast is erosional and we should all move away from it. A story about how the public has trashed dunes and beaches, or how back barrier environments have been turned into public parking would be more appropriate -- these public uses cause more damage than the sea, and across a broader area.
John Thompson / Medfield
Family Man In “Absence Makes the Heart . . .,” Patrick McVay surely presented the situation in which most married men find themselves (Coupling, September 20): a comfortable life with a wife, children, and home. Every man deserves a break in his quotidian life, not just to connect with old pals but also to show the world and his wife that he really is the same person he was prior to marriage and children. A few days away with his buds in an RV might not turn out to be as much fun as it sounds, but it will confirm for him that he has the best thing in life going for him -- his family.
Robert Bossie / New Castle, New Hampshire
Folk Ode It was enjoyable to read the interview with Arlo Guthrie (First Person, September 13). It seems something might have been forgotten, though. Guthrie wrote one of the best songs about the state of Massachusetts, and it could also be the most underappreciated song. To quote from its lyrics: “And I could spend all of my days/And remain each day amazed/At the way each day is phrased/In Massachusetts.”
Paul Thomas Sarno / Revere
Another Dimension Charles P. Pierce’s column remains my biggest laugh of the week, “One Senseless Play” (Pierced, September 13) not excepted. The expression “at the corner of 48th Street and 1959” could serve admirably as an example of the idea, common in some mathematical quarters, that the fourth dimension is time.
Jonathan H. Young / Waltham
Cupid’s Charms Oh, I am very married and reside in Suburbia, USA, but, like others, live a bit vicariously through your Dinner With Cupid column. A friend and I agreed recently that we get such a kick out of seeing how the dates go. I was oddly thrilled that the September 13 daters (“Party People”) both gave it an A and are going out again! Bravo for you. This is a great column.
Selden Wells Tearse / Duxbury
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