Response to
Bel Kaufman Captivates Audience at Marymount Manhattan College

To the Editor:
I am assuming that Bel Kaufman is still alive, and I am extremely eager to ask her two questions about her grandfather: did he ever write or say who his literary influences were? If he did, whom did he mention? Were any of them writers in English? Did Shalom Aleichem ever learn to speak and read English, and if so, did he do so before he came to New York City? If so, when?

Arnie Perlstein
Weston, FL

Dear Arnie,
Indeed, I am very much alive. To respond: My grandfather Shalom Aleichem knew no English, nor was he in this country long enough to learn it. He was influenced by Mendela Moher-Sjorim, H. Bialick, and others of his contemporaries in Yiddish and Hebrew, as well as by the Russian classics he had read and admired: Tolstoy, Gogol, Chechov (whose short stories he loved)—but it is not easy to trace his influences because he was “sui generis,” unique. I refer you in English to my aunt’s biography of him: My Father, Shalom Aleichem by Marie Goldberg-Waif. Sorry I cannot help you more.

Bel Kaufman

Response to
Wheelchair Charities A Superstar

To the Editor:

A lot of us could only wish to have love like Hank has for people and community. Growing up without a father, he was the next best thing. And I learned how to play the game of basketball. Those experiences have taught me a lot in my life. The only man I know from where I’m from who has never turned his back on the community. Always there with a hand-up, not a hand-out. The other day an old B-ball mate of mine sent me a list from hoopsville and I was on it. After all the years, I made the list. I would not have done it if I hadn’t gotten the fundamentals from “my baby” Hank. Haven’t seen you in a long time, but I often think of you and I hope you’re doing well, my friend. I send big love.

Bernard Fowler

Studio City, CA

Response to
Quirky Kids: Understanding & Helping Your Child Who Doesn’t Fit In

To the Editor:

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the authors of this book. I am looking forward to reading it come September. I totally agree with the philosophy you are putting forth: My precious kid is not a label! He is a very different, fascinating, smart, socially inept, and difficult little boy! I cannot stand the way some of my neighbors and some of the educators treat him as if he were retarded because of his PDD-NOS label. I told people about it in the beginning, and sometimes I wish I never had done that! The general public pretty much thinks “autism” and pictures a person rocking back and forth in a corner. I know they are just ignorant, and I hope this book will educate many. Yes, I agree with you that we have to stop “over-pathologizing” these quirky kids, and be encouraged to enjoy their uniqueness. I think your book is a step in the right direction to help us do that.

Alison Brom
Leominster, MA