100,000AAdvantagemiles
foryour thoughts
Emailusat
, and ifyour letter ispublished in
a2015 issue, you’llbeentered intoadrawing towin100,000AAdvantagemiles
Special, Indeed
IappreciatedToddAaronJensen’spiece
“Triumphof theSpirit” in theJuly issue.
Toooften,SpecialOlympicscompetitors
areviewedas“sweet”or“enthusiastic,”but
notasrealpeopleorrealathletes.Thisarti-
clemade itclear that theSpecialOlympics
WorldGames isa truecompetitionwith
athletes thatdeserve thesamerespectas
professionals.Thankyou forbringing light
toan importantathleticevent thatreminds
usof thevalueofeveryperson.
CarolineIll
Millstadt, Illinois
AssistantEditorAbbyKinsingerResponds:
You are right on,Caroline. I had twouncleswith
Down syndromegrowingup, andoneof themonce
representedOklahoma in theSpecialOlympics
as apowerlifter. Though theyhaveboth recently
passed, this piecewas such ahappy reminder for
meof the spirit, power andheart I saw inmyuncles,
in athletic endeavors andbeyond.
BuildingBridges
Iwasexcited toreadJosephGuinto’sJuly
businesscolumn“Brain-PoweredToys,”
about toys thataredesigned forgirls.Asan
educator, it isobvious tome thatgirlsexcel
atelementary-levelmathandscienceona
levelequal toboys.Onrainy-dayrecesses,
I takeouta largebinofLegos, and theboys
flock to them. Itneveroccurred tome that
manyof thegirlsperhapsdidn’tfind the
blocksappealingbecause theyseem tobe
marketed toboys. Iwilldefinitelybebuying
setsofRoominate forrainydays.
TerriEvans
Roseville,California
ManagingEditorTravisKinseyResponds:
As the
proud father of a littlegirl who turns 1 thismonth,
I can tell you, Terri, that I am thrilled about what
Roominate is inbusiness todo.
BeachyKeen
Whenourchildrenwere little,wecollected
sand insmallbottlesand lined themup
toseedifferences in texture, colorand
fineness.We tried toguessandstudy the
mineralsandelements in thesand.We
hadquitean impressivecollection,butnot
quite thevividcolordifferencesdescribed
inSteveMillburg’s“TheColorofSummer”
in theJuly issue.Now thatmyhusband
andIarebothretired,weareenticed to
seesandcolors likepurple,pinkandgreen
and tosinkour feet intosoftquartzsand.
Colorfulbeaches,herewecome!
MariaBurcroff
SilverSpring,Maryland
SeniorEditorJacquelyneFroeberResponds:
Thank you,Maria, for the kindnote.And I agree
with you: There’s nothingbetter than sinking your
toes in the sand and just enjoying theday.Wehope
to see youon thebeach!
HaitianHighlights
Iwanted to thankyou forBarbaraWysoc-
ki’sarticleon the“HiddenGlory”ofHaiti
(June).Withallof the trialsHaitihas faced,
it isexciting tosee itsnewdevelopment,
tourismandbeautyhighlighted.Having
traveled toseveralareas in theCaribbean
—mostrecentlyonadirectflight toSt.
Maarten—Iappreciate thecultures, trop-
ical scenery,hospitablepeopleandhistory
of theseamazingcountries.
TerryTolbert
Charlotte,NorthCarolina
A.K.Responds:
I agree, Terry. Barbaradid awon-
derful jobof showcasingHaiti and thebeauty that
is toooftenoverlooked. I hope to visit soon.
TheWindy,WorldlyCity
Onarecentflight, Isawsomethingabout
DevonAvenue (“Chicago’sMagnifi-
centMeltingPot,”June)on thecoverof
AmericanWay
.AsanOrthodoxJew, Iwas
eager toseewhichof themanycultures
you’dportray.Youdid the impossible.You
pickedupon thebestofeachof theeclectic
cultures, showinghowworldpoliticsand
foreignaffairsdon’texist there. Iappreciate
thepositivepresseachculturewasgiven,
andIhopecommunitiesworldwidecan
learn from theDevonmodel.
NinaFox
LosAngeles
AIRMAIL
Gotafantasticphotographthroughtheaircraftwindow?
Tweetusnow@AmericanAir#AmericanView
FROM
LEFT
:
LeavingSalt LakeCity (@t_wyant94);
the Irish countryside (@freqflyer)
AMERICANWAY
SEPTEMBER2015
19
