Dear Yankee

Wrong Target

Edie Clark’s bucolic view of country life is certainly charming, but she should have been fretting more about the wandering black bovine eating poisonous pigweed or getting hit by a car rather than getting shot by a hunter [“Raging Bull,” September/October, p. 14]. Encouraging the stereotype of the bumbling and dangerous “Elmer Fudd”-type hunter is disingenuous and does nothing but frighten visitors to the region and encourage new residents to post their properties. Hunters are an integral part of the New England landscape and know the difference between a cow and a deer.

Brad Eden, Frankfort, ME

Journey Through Lyme

Our family of five all suffer from Lyme [“Trouble in Paradise,” July/August, p. 86], yet only my three children are receiving proper treatment (from Dr. Jones). For now we’re trying to get through day to day hoping the political/medical battle can figure out that the bottom line is that these people just want to get healthy! Isn’t that what medical science is all about?

Barbara Getchell, Hamilton, MA

As a physician who treats Lyme disease in children, I appreciate media attention to this public health problem. However, with the eventual loss of Dr. Jones, there will not be a void in physicians who treat pediatric Lyme disease in Connecticut. I know of several highly qualified, board-certified specialists in infectious disease and rheumatology, myself included, who will treat not only the acute infectious complications of the illness, but the noninfectious later symptoms as well. None of these physicians would abandon sick or symptomatic children, regardless of the cause.

Lawrence Zemel, M.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT

Forever Wild

Some 30 years ago, my oldest daughter, then age 14, and I canoed the Allagash with three other families. It was quite an experience, for we saw moose and other animals along the way that we wouldn’t ordinarily see. We took our time to do the whole trip, all the way to the town of Allagash. Ten days after we started we emerged from the river. Your article [“Choppy Waters Ahead on the Allagash,” July/August, p. 22] mentions some people who think they own the wilderness area, who want to stop everyday people from using the waterway. I hope the state of Maine realizes that all people enjoy these river adventures, not just a select few who want to put a stop to this wonderful experience. It was one of the best trips that I’ve ever taken.

John F. Greene, Douglas, MA

Going Batty

I’d like to add a different perspective to “Sneak Attack” [July/August, p. 16]. In the summer of 1939 I attended a memorable performance of a play at the Clinton, Connecticut, summer theater. It featured an armor-clad Elissa Landi, a movie star of the time, as an Amazon. A bat was conspicuously cruising the hall, and when it nose-dived toward Ms. Landi, she triumphantly brandished her sword at it. The audience applauded!

Dorothy Sands Beers, Jamaica Plain, MA

Some bat bites can be too small to be noticed. Healthy bats out in nature are protected by law, but bats that have been near sleeping people need to be trapped and tested for rabies, not let go. Please see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site for more information (cdc.gov/rabies/bats.html).

Emily Beeler, D.V.M., Hermosa Beach, CA

Update: David Ball

“The Hands of David Ball” [September/October, p. 16] … are still catching balls for the Chicago Bears. After weeks of drills, scrimmages, and pre-season games, the Vermont native and former University of New Hampshire star receiver was one of seven players added to the Bears’ practice squad in September, after the organization pared its roster from 90 to the league-required 53.

After getting the news, Ball told reporters, “To be in this situation with a team that just made the Super Bowl … I’ll take it in any way, shape, or form … It’s only going to help me to go against this [defense] every day.” Stay tuned. — Eds.