Readers write: Christmas trees, gratitude, and more
Letters to the editor for the Jan. 20, 2020 weekly magazine. Readers discuss what makes a Christmas celebration authentic, give gratitude, and more.
Staff
Christmas trees
The cover story “Holiday foresters” in the Dec. 23 Monitor Weekly brought smiles to me. In 1959, our family moved to the country in York County in Pennsylvania. One of the first things my parents did was plant pine seedlings, which grew to become Christmas trees. This was my first business, which was advertised every December in the Monitor’s classified ads. The best reward was sharing a feeling of joy with the families coming to cut their own trees!
Carlie Jacobs Beisel
Emporia, Kansas
Authentic holiday
I was very uncomfortable as I read “Holiday foresters,” because a more “authentic” article would not have focused solely on the millennials who can afford to own a car and buy gas, and have the time and the money to make a foray into the countryside to cut and purchase their own Christmas tree.
My grandchildren are millennials with families who can afford to do such activities. But I’m quite aware that many more millennial families cannot undertake this “authentic” outing because they are not financially able to do so. Perhaps the Monitor can publish something letting us know how poor and cash-strapped millennials celebrate “authentically.”
Peggy Wenrick
Tucson, Arizona
Gratitude
I love reading the Monitor Weekly, which I get from my public library, and my favorite article in every issue is “A Christian Science Perspective.” Each column always seems so pertinent to me, often mirroring a situation or circumstance I may be dealing with at the time.
The essay in the Nov. 25 issue, “Gratitude heals” by Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche, was especially meaningful for me, and I send her my gratitude.
I want to thank everyone at the Monitor for such uplifting and inspiring articles, and for its unbiased and balanced reporting – a refreshing change from much of today’s news.
Mardell Lavonne
Denver
Prison visits
The editorial “Visit a prison, make the US safer” in the Dec. 16 Monitor Weekly stated, “More than two-thirds of inmates released from state prisons are rearrested within three years.” Perhaps the solution is to require classes on behavior to encourage a better lifestyle. Classes might also be given to train prisoners in the job skills needed in their areas.
Muriel Horacek
Altadena, California