100,000AAdvantagemiles
foryour thoughts
Emailusat
, and ifyour letter ispublished in
a2015 issue, you’llbeentered intoadrawing towin100,000AAdvantagemiles
Setting theTone
Ihavebeen travelingonAmericanAirlines
foranumberofyearsnow, and in that time
Ihavebecomemoreandmore interested
in
AmericanWay
. Inmostpublications,
the“Editor’sNote” isusuallyanautomatic
skip. In the lastcoupleofyears,however, I
have found thatAdamPitluk’scolumnsare
must-reads.Whetherhe ismusingabout
growingup inOhio, enjoying tripsaround
theworldor lamentingbalancinghis love
of travelwithhis love forhis family, I thor-
oughlyenjoyreadinghiscolumns.Theyset
the tone forwhat isaveryenjoyablepubli-
cation.Keepup thegoodwork,Adam.
ChristopherBrown
Holstein, Iowa
EditorAdamPitlukResponds:
Christopher, you’re
mynewbest friend. Please letme know if your car
needswashing.
LookingBack
Iamcompelled torespond to the“Editor’s
Note” in theAugust issue, “WickedWis-
dom.”AdamPitlukwroteaboutsomeone in
yourpastwho leftamarkonyour lifeand
how thatperceptioncarrieson foryears.
ThecoverstoryaboutJadaPinkettSmith
andherpast (“ToughAsNails”)showed
howshebecame thepersonshe is.Before
myflight, agood friendsentmeamessage
towishmesafe travelsandsentmepictures
ofus from2005and2008, andI thought to
myselfhowyoungandnaiveIwas.Now in
my30s, Ican lookbackandrealizeIknew
nothing.Gettingmarried, going througha
divorceandbuyingmyfirstproperty inmy
20smademestronger,more independent
andamorebeautifulperson.The thingswe
go throughand theshifts thatJadamen-
tionedarebound tohappen.Thesearticles
wereamuch-neededrealitycheck.
JenniferFurtado
SanDiego
A.P.Responds:
Youare indeedabeautiful person,
Jennifer. It takes truebeauty tomake suchabold
self-critique. I hope tobeasbeautiful asyouoneday.
BeingGrateful
Celebritiescanbeso irksomewhen they
complainabout invasionofprivacy in this
gossip-drenched,TMZworld, so it’svery
refreshingwhenJadaPinkettSmithkeeps
Hollywoodscrutiny inproperperspective
(“ToughasNails,”August)andsays that if
that’s theworstofhercomplaints, she’shad
ablessed life.Thankyou forapiece thatall
publicfiguresshouldreadandemulate.
NelsonBae
LosAngeles
SeniorResearchEditorSusanS.Gallacher
Responds:
You’vehit thenail on thehead,Nelson.
In addition, I foundJada tobewonderfullydown-
to-earthwhen she took the time topersonally
speakbyphoneduring the fact-checkingprocess
(something apublicist normallyhandles).Her input
made the article shine thatmuchbrighter.
StrongWill
Iwas inspiredwhilereading thearticle
“Triumphof theSpirit” inyourJuly issue.
Thearticlewasabout theSpecialOlympics
WorldGames,but itwasmoreabout the
athletescompeting in them.Theathletes
withdisabilitiesshowdeterminationand
theability toovercomeobstacles that
sometimesmightseem impossible.The
headlineof thearticlereflectedwhat these
athletesaccomplishandwhatweshouldall
strive toattain.Theireffortsdon’thave to
doonlywith thephysicalendeavors,which
wemightrelate instantly toOlympics,but
withwhat is insideandwhatreallymatters
— theirspiritand theirwill.
AdrianaGaribaldi
Guayaquil,Ecuador
AssociateEditorAbbyKinsingerResponds:
So
true,Adriana. Those athletes have a special place
inmyheart, andwe can all learn from thegreat
outlook they exemplify. Believing is achieving.
PelicanParadise
Myhusband is fromBatonRouge,Loui-
siana, andaHurricaneKatrinaevacuee.
Beforewegotengaged,he insisted thatI
spendaweekcheckingout the“history,
tradition, cultureandwetlands” that
youwritesowellabout inyour“Bornon
AIRMAIL
Gotafantasticphotographthroughtheaircraftwindow?
Tweetusnow@AmericanAir#AmericanView
FROM
LEFT
:
on theway toATL (@carterblumeyer)
NewYorkCity (@arash777)
AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER2015
17
