AIR MAIL
Weenjoyhearingwhat you thinkabout themagazine— somuch so
that
ifyour letter to theeditor ispublished ina2012 issue,you’ll
beentered intoadrawing towin100,000AAdvantagemiles.
Want
achanceat themiles?Simplyemail your thoughts tousat
100,000AAdvantage
milesforyourthoughts.
Misseditinthemagazine?
Thearticles referencedaboveareavailable
onlineatAA.com/americanway
us to have a free press where we’re permitted
to have a magazine and to run stories like “A
Mother’sLove”and “TheMissionContinues.”May
Godbless you and your family.
NEWYEAR’SINPARIS
While reading an issue of
AmericanWay
,
I stumbled across an advertisement for
the AmericanAirlines AAdvantage card
throughCitibank andVisa. One of the in-
centiveswas amileagebonus for the first
$1,000 spent on the card. After doing re-
search, I discovered that I could takemy
wifeon adream vacation toParis.We em-
barkedonanunbelievable trip, andhaving
thebonusmilesallowedus touse them for
oneof our tickets.Had thisnot been avail-
able, wewouldhavenever been able to af-
ford the trip. Beingable to ring in thenew
year inPariswas absolutelybreathtaking!
Thankyou,AmericanAirlinesandVisa, for
allowingus theopportunity to take this in-
credible trip.
TylerBratton,Starkville,Miss.
A.P.RESPONDS:
It’s thegift that keepsongiving
all year long, Tyler. Enjoy!
NEWYEAR’SINTHESKY
I booked a ticket toHawaii on awhim in
mid-DecemberandthoughtI’denjoyanup-
gradeonmy returneight-hour trip. Alas, I
didn’t, as theplanewas crowded. Iwanted
to take thisopportunity to thank theflight
attendants onAAflight 72 fromHonolulu
toChicago for theirNewYear’sEve cheer,
surprisingallofus in thebackwithacham-
pagne toast tobring in2012.
Y.Cohen,Glenview, Ill.
A.P.RESPONDS:
I loveagoodchampagne toast
…makesmewish I’dhave flownonNewYear’sEve.
CAPTIONCONUNDRUM
Iwas surprised to seeamistake inaphoto
captioninthestoryaboutNanjingChina(“A
WorldApart,”Dec.1,2011).Onpage31,there
isaphotoofroundhouseswhich is listedas
“thedistinctive roundhouses of aNanjing
village.”Thesehousesarecloseto600miles
southofNanjing,andtheyare locatedinthe
NanjingcountyoftheFujianprovince.How
do thephotos get selectedandhoware the
factsonthesearticlescheckedandverified?
This is a blatantmistake thatwouldhave
been caughtwith a veryminimal amount
of fact-checking.
MarkWichmann,Chicago
DESIGN DIRECTOR DAVIDW. RADABAUGH
RESPONDS:
To address your inquiry about our
process:We requested images taggedwith key-
words
Nanjing
and/or
Shanghai
from National
Geographic Stock and several other reputable
sources. The image inquestioncontained the fol-
lowing description: “Nanjing, People’s Republic
of China. The landscape and distinctive round
houses of aNanjing village.”
We followed our protocols to the letter. Our
errorwasnot recognizing theabsenceofqualify-
ingdetails (county vs. city) in the data that was
providedwith the photo, a consequence of not
having a photographer on the ground in South-
east Asia.We regret the error.
UNIVERSALLANGUAGE
I have been flying onAmericanAirlines
since1993. IhavealwaysfoundtheAAsta
tobeveryhelpful and friendly.Oncewhen
we shippedourdaughter’spets tohernew
home, Imade luggage tags that looked like
driver’s licenses for their pet crates. The
stagot thebiggestkickoutof the tags.
Recently, Ireturned toMiami fromSan-
tiago, Chile.Unfortunately, Idonot speak
Spanish. TheAmericanAirlines stawas
bilingual andmademy check-inpainless.
My flight was also staffed by a bilingual
flight crew.Whenamedical emergencyde-
velopedonboard, theflightcrewresponded
quicklyandprofessionally.
BobJae,BocaRaton,Fla.
MANAGING EDITOR TRAVIS KINSEY
RESPONDS:
You entertain our staff with your
creativityandour staff helps yougetwhereyou
need tobe, evenwhen there’s a slight language
barrier. Everybodywins!
AMERICANGOLDSTARMOTHERS
YourDec. 15, 2011, issuecontained two sto-
ries I found verypoignant andwhich con-
tinue to talk tome. “AMother’sLove” and
“TheMissionContinues”werewellwritten
anddepicttwocriticalteamswhodoindeed
support the troops. Together, these twoar-
ticlesareabout acause that isverynear to
myheart—supporting the troops.
There isanothergroupthatmeetssome-
where in themiddleof theBlueStarMoth-
ers andTheMissionContinues— it’s the
group of mothers whose blue star in the
window turns togold— theAmericanGold
StarMothers, Inc.
Iwas aBlueStarMotherwhenmyonly
son, 1stLt. ThomasM.Martin, enlisted in
theU.S. Army in 1998.Hewasdeployed in
September 2006 andwas in Iraqwhenhe
waskilledinactiononOct.14,2007.Myblue
star in thewindow turnedgold.
I was looking for somewhere to turn
mygrief into somethingpositive. Iquickly
found that AmericanGold StarMothers
(AGSM)was forme. AGSM is anorganiza-
tionofmotherswhose sons anddaughters
havediedwhile inmilitary service of our
country. It is a service organization that
allowsmothers of the fallen to turn their
grief and sorrow into something positive
by volunteering to support veterans and
woundedsoldiers.
So, what does a Blue Star Mother do
whenher star in thewindow turns gold?
Many choose to continue themission and
findcomfortandsupportbywayofservice.
Thankyou for continuing topublishar-
ticles thatareofgreat interest tosomany.
CandyMartin,SanAntonio
EDITOR ADAM PITLUK RESPONDS:
I cannot
begin toexpress howmoved Iwas byyour note,
Candy. Your sonwill liveeternallyasa trueAmer-
ican hero— someone whomade it possible for
12
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
