thanks for your note

      Donita, your column today literally had the " raw " material for

    a classic horror story -with a moral message. Ever read Hawthorne's

    " The Minister's Black Veil "  ?

         I have reflected now and then on a particular woman's beautiful

    eyes. But could you say that she has beautiful EYEBALLS ?

         I'll have to settle for the superficial ! Thanks for a thoughtful

    column.


 From: donita_naylor@ProJo.COM ("DNAYLOR.PJB.PROJO.COM")
    To: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov
    Subject: thanks for your note
    Date: Fri, 31 Jul



    Dear Mr. Ruggeiri, 

        So nice of you to write. Gosh, I wish I could have quoted you about
    the eyeballs. That's a much better example than mine. 
        I've thought a lot about the guy with no face. My first idea was for a
    short story about him going to Hollywood to act in horror films. After hours
    in makeup, he would get a regular face for some of his scenes. And he would
    really love to feel normal for those days, and nice, regular things would
    happen to him. Then his horror scenes would be shot with his real face, and
    around the set people would recoil, or do a double-take and ask who did his
    makeup.
        Is there such a thing as techno-gothic? 
        Anyway, it sure was generous of you to suggest the horror angle. I
    wish I had the imagination. If only I could visit mr. cheekless and see what
    his state of mind is. Whatever I could dream up would be so standard, but real
    people have surprising states of mind sometimes.
        If he recognizes himself and says something, I'll let you know.
        Thanks again for writing. I hope the Beautiful Eyes look at you
    sometimes.
        

" Dangerously Insane " - a must read

The Providence Journal editorial today ( July 29 ) - " Dangerously

    Insane ", a reflection on Russel Weston and our mental health system,

    merits the attention of our national leaders and of the entire nation.

      Among its  excellent points :  Americans should support reopening

    some mental hospitals and " considering whether some states' laws

    should be changed to make it easier to commit individuals . "

          I live with my mentally ill brother who is lithium

    dependent. It has been obvious to me for a year that his

    " treatment " is nothing less than criminally negligent. His

    so-called psychiatrist -connected to Butler Hospital in Providence-

    is a world class incompetent.

         The Providence Journal  says that we should support providing

    adequate medical care for the " mentally ill who are either

    uninsured or who cannot obtain proper care through their managed-

    care provider. "

         My brother's jackass shrink actually tormented him about

    his lack of medical insurance. He now - precisely because of

    his mental breakdown- can only work part time  as an electronic

    technician for the  Warwick Police Dept. After 15 years of

    devoted service, they dropped his Blue Cross !

         Naturally when you lose your mind, you -sooner or later-

    lose your job along with its benefits.

        In general we have guaranteed health coverage in this

    country as long as we don't need it. The health system is

    inhumane and ridiculous.

        After the shootings in the very halls of Congress, you would

    think that our mental health system would be front page news.

        1
            Headline today : " Lewinsky granted immunity for testimony ".

Martin J. Furman - Quack !

It was not necessary for me to mention the name of my brother

    Ray's psychiatrist in my earlier letter on the Providence Journal

    editorial today ( July 29 ) - " Dangerous Insanity ".

        Having observed  Ray's " treatment " for over a year now, I have

    concluded that it is nothing less than criminally negligent. For the

    record the name of his psychiatrist is Martin J. Furman on the staff

    of Butler Hospital in Providence ( phone -455-6200 ).

        Furman never really " sees"  Ray at all. He just " monitors " his

    lithium medication. He does not even care to notice ray's PHYSICAL

    deterioration. He has not once referred him for a general health

    examination. That is none of his business, is it ? He offers no hope

    or guidance to Ray's family. He just reminds Ray to pay cash for his

    monthly visits. He tells Ray he is in big trouble if he has another

    crack up. No more insurance coverage for Butler.

         Dr. Furman told Ray just how horrible are the state institutions.

       Ray is not sane enough to drown himself, I guess !

susan@drowsydoll.com -a surprise!

A woman friend of mine, Susan, e- mailed me yesterday informing me about her new web site : susan@drowsydoll.com . Susan is a refined and educated person married to Mark, who still publishes the works of H.P Lovecraft ( Arkam House, I recall ).

She left me guessing what this was all about. But I read : "Everyone love Drowsy ! " . I had second thoughts about checking Drowsy out in a public library. I sent her an e-message : " tell me more ! "
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This morning I met Drowsy: " Drowsy is perhaps the most beloved doll made in the 1960s. Made by Mattel Inc; she is a doll who looks like a baby ,yet talks like a toddler.

... " And yet to many of us Drowsy is much more than just another doll--she is the first 'baby ' we ever tried to ' mother' - and for that reason she will always be cherished ".

            " My first Drowsy came  from Santa on Christmas of 1967.
    She was beautiful ... "

 Susan already has many fans visiting her Drowsy web site.

One woman writes : " I love your website, and was impressed with the quality of the drowsy recordings. It was as if I was pulling the strings myself! "

Susan says that she is " aghast at the amount of money people were willing to pay for a Drowsy . "  I  myself have nostalgic memories of a  " Mugs Monkey " doll and a " Howdy  Doody " doll. My mother told me that I was ready to mug for mugs. But I remember that Howdy was my " first love ". I have straightened out of course !

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wow, Ron, must be a slow news day if you're writing about Drowsy!  :)

    Not that she isn't worthy of a letter to the editor!

    Two minor corrections--"Mark" is actually "Marc" and he runs Necronomicon
    Press--Arkham House is an "enemy" publishing house :)

    As for me being "refined and educated", that is debatable :)

    Your letter is great, otherwise. Any publicity is good.  My site is
    listed on some search engines now such as Yahoo and HotBot so that is
    where the majority of v<italic>isitors come from.  We are planning on
    putting up 2 more sets of Drowsy paper dolls which I purchased and more
    pics. of different Drowsys.  Thanks for thinking Drowsy worthy of a
    letter, Ronnie.

        Having a good day here so far.  Am listening to that flake, Myrna Lamb,
    in the background today while doing work.  She is trying to discuss the
    Clinton/Lewinsky/Starr case intelligently--I think she'd be doing better
    if she just did their horoscopes :)


    Hope you are having a good day.  Thanks again.

    Love,

    Susan

A.H Liddle in Providence Journal

Well to my surprise Alfred H. Liddle III at least LOOKS like

    a winner. I read in the Providence Journal today ( July 27 ) that

    he is a man of political ambition in Warwick where he is a lifelong

    resident. A conservative Republican, he is now seeking a seat in

    the state legislature, District 37.

            Among his credentials he has a bachelor's degree in English

    literature. I myself am a registered Democrat ( open minded, I think )

    but I am convinced that this attractive candidate can do as much

    for booming Warwick as  George F. Babbitt did for Zenith in

    the Sinclair Lewis novel " Babbitt ".

          He believes in LESS GOVERNMENT REGULATION . I suspect

    that he has been inspired by Ronald Reagan or Barry Goldwater.

        They show that it is possible to be conservative without

    being obnoxious, I guess.

         At age 46 , married and with a 12 year old daughter, Mr.

    Liddle does not look like a man who has convulsions over

    school lunch programs.

         I assume that he is the same A.H Liddle who corresponds

    rather frequently with the Warwick Beacon.

        Perhaps personal contact with the public can improve his

    image. I see an old crank in his letters. And he should

    play down his anti-gay perspective, even if it is not

    malicious.

         The " immediate 10 percent reduction in  the state's

    income rate"  -this idea is definitely a " read my lips"

    wopper. But it can win an election.

         I will send him an autographed photo of Patrick Kennedy

    just as soon as I get one.

         In my heart I know that Liddle is Right !

" no mental patients " -Weston

A few weeks ago I sent out a letter titled " Word Cops Strike

    Again ! " . I was amazed to learn from a letter writer that the term

    " mental patient " was now as unspeakable as the N-word in the

    politically correct psychiatric establishment.

        Living with a mentally ill brother ( lithium dependent ) I was

    bemused by this comment: " There are no mental patients in mental

    hospitals ". Yes, I reflected, and THAT is just the problem.

       It seems that we have overcome the stereotype of " mental patient "

    to such a degree that our so called mental health system does not

    even see them. And therefore does not even treat them !

         Today I read this about Capitol killer  Russell Eugene Weston :

       " ..diagnosed in his late 20s as a paranoid ( schizophrenic)..he

    received no regular treatment or medication over the last two decades. "

       His now distraught family does did not know what do about him.

       After hearing the significant details of the shooting of the

    Capitol police officers, Chestnut and Gibson ( black and white, RIP ),

    I said to myself : " It is a mentally ill man who they will say 'fell

    through the cracks ' "

          In this tragic case our health care system is responsible for

    the killings , the nightmare in the very halls of the United States

    Congress .

         Let me hear conservatives recommend the death penalty for an

    utterly deranged man !

Only in Rhode Island !

Your " senior " columnist " with an " old soul " , Seth Brown,

    has just applied for his driver's license. How do I know? My brother

    Rick, a former town councilman in Foster, is a part time driving

    instructor for AAA.

           He  - he hopes- has taught seething Seth how to drive. For

    the sake of all Rhode Islanders, we hope that Seth at least respects

    Isaac  Newton on the road .

           Now I feel like the neighborhood bully . Sorry Seth !

Is Seth Brown on drugs ?

hank you for the information on Seth Brown. But re-reading

        his poem, I now wonder if the man is on drugs !  Where was the

        editor ?
               " And we knew Hawaii LEI ( sic ) in wait ? "

             If I am hopelessly philistine in my appreciation of DEEP poetry,

        please let me know. Just a few words :

               " Ron you're a JACKASS ! "

            If there is more humor than scandal in this Seth matter, I will

        find it.

               I am searching for Star-dumb too Seth !  But Seth even Stars FALL

        according to Newtons Laws. And you don't give a fig-newton for this

        truth ?

               My sympathy for the editor who has to put up with Seth !


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - -

From: david_brussat@ProJo.COM ("DBRUSSAT.PJB.PROJO.COM")
    To: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov
    Subject: Re: [ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov: You can't hide Seth !]
    Date: Tue, 21 Jul



    --Boundary-1334900-0-0

         Ron - I trust you resent the letter, which I'm sure was requested for
    technical reasons. I'm sure it will run because it is criticizing something we
    ran in our pages. And I'm sure it will run before Christmas. But, Ron, do 
    keep in mind that we get zillions of letters. If you write one every other
    day, most will simply not be published. If you want to have more impact
    yourself on which of your letters get published, rather than having us select
    some and not others, you should cut your rate of correspondence.
         As for Newton, I did a double-take when I first saw that line, but on
    reflection I imagined that there might have been some rationale for such a
    statement, given the less precise mechanisms then available for calculating
    matters of measurement. Even still, it seems a stretch for Seth to say Newton
    "fudged" - not to mention linking Sir Isaac with the shadier journalistic
    practices Seth was criticizing. But perhaps even I am not familiar with the
    extent to which "fudging" was, perhaps, a common shortcut around the
    inadequacies of the measuring techniques available then. I'll be interested in
    seeing Seth's response, if indeed there will be one!
        - Dave

You can't hide Seth !

Last week I received two E-mail communications from the Providence

        Journal editorial room on this matter of Seth Brown, who- I think -

        brainlessly smeared Isaac Newton in a July 12 column. He said that

        the greatest scientist who ever lived FUDGED RESULTS to fit his

        conclusions about the laws of the universe.

            " When and where", I asked, " did he fudge results ? "

          A communication from the editorial room _ I know Robert Whitcomb-

        is a very intelligent man- told me to re-send a letter I wrote

        defending the honor of Isaac newton: " good- Seth has a reply ". ( I

        recall ).

            But when- for Christmas? I know the top editors KNOW there was

        foolishness here. If I am the fool, I promise to take a long vacation

        from my letter writing - which for me is just fun. I'm involved in no

        causes and I am too individualistic to bother with the best

        organizations. I just speak my mind - trying not to hurt people in

        a personal way.

             Seth can just admit he was foolish. Human beings have right to be

        foolish now and then. But just owe up to it ! And LEARN something !

             The HONOR of Newton compelled me to send that letter I wrote to

        the Providence Journal yesterday: " Providence Journal smears Isaac

        Newton" to about 25 newspapers all over this great country.

            I gave them the public phone number at 75 Fountain St.

           Seth , you can't hide !

Providence Journal smears Isaac Newton!

Providence Journal columnist Seth Brown is good candidate for

    the next Patricia Smith, the disgraced writer for the Boston Globe.

        Seth is leading the New Ignorance campaign at 75 Fountain St.

    ( 401-277-7303 or 277-7175 ). In a Sunday Journal column ( July 12 )-

    without giving his readers the slightest evidence - he brainlessly

    asserted that Isaac Newton - whom many scholars consider the greatest

    scientist of all time - FUDGED RESULTS  in formulating his momentous

    discoveries.

        In other words the genius Newton is a no more reliable guide to

    REALITY than the average TV evangelist- the Elmer Gantry type.

       Seth Brown seems to have the complete support and respect of the

    once respectable newspaper's top management.

         Seth also entertains his readers with fine poetry :

         " American Culture is a vulture ".

         Said one Providence Journal reader : "  Well what do you expect

    after Dallas based crackpots took over the newspaper last year ? "

         Seth does Dallas in Providence !

Sociologist on the bus

The smartest thing I've done lately is buy myself a two-zone

    RIPTA bus pass - $34.50 for one month. But I must warn people

    unsophisticated in matters sociological : prepare yourself for encounters

    not with the " worthy poor " right out of a Charles Dickens novel- but

    with the the most brainless, wretched freaks - of all races and

    nationalities. Now I know what types inspired the H.P Lovecraft story :

    " The Horror at Redhook ". Did Lovecraft have a prophetic vision of the

    future of Rhode Island - where out of the lowest of the low degenerates

    a new race would arise, even more HORRIBLE ?

          I am not about to hang up an Adolph Hitler in my bedroom. But I

    must ask : Is there a gentler, kinder way to rid the civilized world

    of the sub-human super breeders ? Is Eugenics still a dirty word ?

         The problem here is not so much shameful poverty but the very

    decay of humanity !   It is hard to see humanity in beasts .

         Not a cheerful letter today I know.

Lovecraftian types on front page

 Study the faces of Kathryn Rangel and George Hering III on the

    front page of the Providence Journal today ( July !8 ). They are

    " heavy drug users " wanted for child snatching. They are at the

    reproductive age; she is 33, he is 38. They both have teeth missing

    - no doubt from beating each other up - and are  fleeing in a beat up

    car, which suggests that I might encounter them on a RIPTA bus in the

    near future.

        The child snatched is their very own - with  the Lovecraftian

    " heritage " in its very genes.

         With a name like George Hering III, you might expect a little

    class in his background. But the face suggest a "  Horror at Redhook "

    lineage. My candidate for Mr. Rhode Island 2000 !

          Stolen cars, unpaid rent, shoplifting at Stop & Shop - and

    drugs and more drugs - this mating union was surely made in heaven !

         Who dare  frustrate such people in their reproductive generosity ?

        I have a theory why this type needs the stupefaction of drugs: they

    find it unbearable to be more aware than the more primitive forms of

    vegetation.

         Kathryn & George are real life versions of that R.I breed - Dumb &

    Dumber.

And Seth Brown's Reply ?

 I anxiously await Seth Brown's reply to my defense of Isaac

    Newton's HONOR . I hope I was one of MANY who responded to her

    Sunday Journal column .

            I also wrote to " Ask the Globe " ( Boston Globe ) about

    this matter. They responded that they would get around to it .

          Is it possible that legions of scholars at Ivy League

    colleges ( Brown and Harvard ) are indifferent to Newton's

    reputation ?  Has scientific illiteracy become a national plague ?

           How low can journalism sink ?  My own amateurish investigation

    of current publications leads me to believe that Seth - perhaps

    naively and innocently - was passing on rubbish she picked up

    from some ignorant jackass TV evangelist .

            If she can PROVE that Isaac Newton ever FUDGED a result in

    a scientific paper, I will contribute all my summer lemonade

    funds to the Providence Journal Santa Claus Fund !

          Top scientist are HUMAN - to be sure. They might plagiarize

    and take credit for ideas not quite their own. They can be vain

    and greedy. They might crave fame . But fudging results is not

    one of their foibles.

           There is always the REALITY CHECK !

        Corrupt " for hire " corporate scientists are birds of another

    feather. They are the despicable prostitutes of the profession.

No moan for Loan !

How well I remember the impact of that Vietnam War EXECUTION

    PHOTO. Was it not simply a WAR  CRIME to execute on the spot a helpless

    prisoner of war - even if the man himself was a war criminal. Did not

    the government of Israel give even Adolf Eichmann a fair trial ?

        THE EXECUTIONER - Nguyen Ngoc Loan -died in this country at age

    67. Eddie Adams'  shocking photo won a Pulitzer Prize for The Associated

    Press. Perhaps Adams regrets its influence on the anti-war movement, a

    movement that owes no apologies to the nation.

        " The guy ( Gen. Loan ) was hero", Adams says today. " America should

    be crying ".

          America is still crying over the national tragedy that was the

    Vietnam War. But we should cry for Gen. Loan ? Rubbish !

John Howell & Allen Shawn Feinstein

             If  Stephen Hamblett had three articles with his name attached

    to them on the front page of HIS newspaper, The Providence Journal - readers

    might question his prudence. Should not the PUBLISHER of even a local

    newspaper- like the Warwick Beacon - confine his writing to the editorial

    page ?  Nobody questions the right of a publisher to write for his own

    newspaper. But isn't a lower profile for the publisher better journalism ?

            Mr. Howell seems to have something in common with  Allen Shawn

    Feinstein - a good man, a kind man, a smart man .  We are no more likely

    to forget that he is a PHILANTHROPIST than we are to forget that John

    Powell is THE PUBLISHER !

        I hope he also has a sense of humor- or my own obscure name will

    remain - well OBSCURE - in his Warwick Beacon .

           There is always the New York Times.

letter on Newton soon!

 I will re-send you my letter on  Seth's Brown POSSIBLE slander

    of Newton as soon as possible. I send out letters then FORGET them.

    Bob Kerr may have it. Possibly my  Froma Harrop.

         I will ask my brother, art supervisor at Duncan & Donnelly, to

    give me my letter back !  He keeps copies in his computer.

        I erase my letters from my PC at the end of the day-  as a safeguard

    against monomania ! Oh Well.

             Thank you - ron

Safer Car Trunks - needless tragedy

         Headline today ( AP ) : " Children die in car trunk " ( July 15 )

     I can't imagine a more horrible way for kids to die- locked in an

    airtight, nearly sound proof trunk, " suffocating and dying from the

    heat " while frantic relatives search the neighborhood for them .

       Police believe the  four cousins , ages 2 to 6 - foolishly playing

    around - closed the trunk themselves. It was a " tragic accident ".

           Anybody getting into a car on a hot,sunny day ( imagine Gallup, N.M ! )

    must often have a fleeting nightmare fantasy : How horrible to be locked

    inside  and helpless ! Those rolled up windows create a greenhouse effect

    inside the automobile. Now and then we read about family pets in this

    plight - and our hearts break.

         " The body in the trunk " is a commonplace image in detective and

    mystery stories. WE MUST MAKE THOSE CAR TRUNKS SAFER !

        Do they have to be nearly soundproof and airtight ? Can't they be

    designed with safety in mind ? Can't they at least have ventilation

    and a see through plastic window ? An easy way to push down the back

    seat if a hapless kid gets stuck inside ? Could it be possible to

    just push the trunk open from the inside ?

        Please no more bodies in trunks !

Effete journalism- Nyhan

I just read David Nyhan column "Good riddance Tina Brown ". I

    rarely read THE NEW YORKER and know almost nothing about Tina

    Brown. I' ve known all about the " sexual sell " since reading

    " The Hidden Persuaders " by Vance Packard years ago.

           Tina Brown may have cheapened THE NEW YORKER but newspaper

    columnists like Mr. Nyhan have also sank to a new low: Just who

    are they writing for nowadays ? Journalists writing about journalists

    are as vapid as movies about movie stars. So much commentary space

    in major newspapers is taken up by effete bores, completely out

    of touch with the  general public.

         And editors often seem to go out of their way to print

    letters that sound like " junior " versions of their more

    insipid columnists . ( The worst offender is the venerable New

    York Times. )

        I notice that the more prominent the journalist the less

    likely he or she is to have an E -mail address. Snobs are alike

    everywhere ! What can the low-brow PUBLIC teach me ?

        The Internet is breathing some fresh air into the stale halls

    of manufactured public opinion.

         I have some simple advice for editorial rooms of the " better "

    newspapers : Open your windows !

        You are  breathing your own fumes !

Your poetry needs IMAGES ! (to Ken Weber)

Ken, it is clear to your readers that you have a poetic feeling

    for the beauties of Nature. I can no more SEE these  marvels than I can


    SEE the once starry sky at night.( I still can see a really starry sky

    when I visit my brother Rick's home in Foster. )

            Living in  Providence most of my life, I have been struck by the

    dearth of things natural that I ever really SEE. For years know I have

    been fond of nature films ( National Geographic, Life on Earth, The Living

    Planet, Nova series ) and also have enjoyed the abundance of beautiful

    nature photography.

         It occurred to me yesterday when I gazed at the illustration of

    your column that ALL your columns would benefit from a color photo or

    two- taking up no more space than that nice but uninstructive illustration-

    of the nature scenes you reflect on so poetically .

             Color photos will - I have no doubt - win for you more readers.

       Just a friendly suggestion from a reader .

        ( I am forwarding to you my letter to the editor today )

        EDIT   ABOVE   " for years NOW  "   ***

- - - - - - - - -
Hi Mr. Ruggieri,

    Thanks for your note. I agree that good color photographs would dress up my
    columns, but I don't think that's going to happen. For one thing, it's not
    practical to send somebody out to shoot what I write about, and the Journal is not likely to have all those photos on hand. Also, the paper uses color only
    on certain pages, so the column would have to be shifted elsewhere. And they have a desire to keep the drawings for consistency's sake.

    Anyway, thanks for the thought.

    ken weber

Registry Rage in Mass.

I can see from the letters page of the BOSTON GLOBE today ( July 14 )

    that the Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles is as infuriating as the

    R.I. Registry. But I doubt if it is nearly as corrupt and incompetent.

    And our traffic court -right out of a Franz Kafka story - is just as

    monstrously bad.

       After my last nightmare with these R.I bureaucracies- completely

    dominated by rude and ignorant bullies- I sent out E-mail letters to

    regional and local newspapers. I titled them : " Nightmare at the

    Registry - parts 1,2, 3. "

        As a humorous touch , I forwarded them to the JERUSALEM POST in

    Israel. Why ? I believe that Jews have a special sympathy for this

    sort of state sponsored misery.

        Today the R.I. Registry  and the traffic court is being reformed.

    It is nice to have friends in high places. ( Maybe they just prayed

    for us . )

Patricia Smith and Jackie Kennedy ( hmmn ! )

Patricia Smith, Boston Globe " Hall of Shame " columnist, may

    indeed find herself in the company of American Royality: Jacqueline

    Kennedy Onassis, according to her half sister, Nina Auchincloss, faked

    interviews as the " inquiring photographer " for the Washington Times-

    Herald. " When things were going slowly on the street ... Jackie would

    ask friends and family members to dress up in disguises and be

    INTERVIEWED AS STAND-INS .. "

        According to one reporter, " her looks were her main contribution

    to the newsroom ".

       All this can be read on pages 34 and 35 of the recently published

    biography " Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis " by Ellen Ladowsky.

         I think Jackie Kennedy was a wonderful human being . But she was

    not perfect. This revelation of her questionable journalism does not

    condone Patricia Smith - but makes her downfall seem an " all too human "

    story.

An ethnic lesson from a neighbor

While sitting quietly on the stairs of my apartment building -in

    the twilight of a fine summer day, gulping down what remained of my Del's

    lemonade, I encountered a neighbor, a seemingly friendly, garrulous type.

    A retired Navy man and Korean War veteran, he likes to travel and now

    was just returning from a pleasant vacation in Canada.

        What he found most delightful about the north region was -to be blunt-

    the absence of Third World types - blacks, hispanics, Asians. " No

    crime there ", he pointed. " In the town I visited there had not been

    a murder in 50 years -and that was an accident", he said.

          " You know why  THEY come here? " he asked me. Then he gave the

    answer : " FOOD - we have a lot of FOOD here. They go right down to the

    welfare office to get their food stamps. In Florida there are signs

    telling them to come to Rhode Island . Because we have the most generous

    welfare program in the country. "

         I listened to him talk in this way, neither agreeing nor strongly

    disagreeing . I certainly think that there is an immigration " problem "

    here but hope there is some humane way to deal with it.

         " I could never live in Providence ", he continued. Those Italians,

    he said, keep Mayor Cianci in office. " The mafia business and all ".

       He told me - oblivious of my last name - that the Italians ( " they

    use to call them guineas, you know "  )   completely control the town

    of Johnston. " I remember going to the city hall. They tell me: ' Can't

    help you today. Roco is not in '.

          " The problem with a lot of people today", he said , " is that

    they don't read. They don't know anything. They just don't know what's

    going on ".

          Finally I was able to agree completely with him. I'm sure we will

    make great friends. If I can just change my last name !

A Seth Brown " creation " - Newton ?

Was Seth Brown ( Corrupt Creative Writing 101, July 12 ,Commentary )

    keeping in mind her audience when she wrote this - for me a fan of the

    late Isaac Asimov - truly astonishing sentence :..." Even top scientists

    like Newton fudged their results in order to reach the conclusion they

    desired > "  The HONOR of the greatest scientist who ever lived demands

    that I ask Brown : " When and where did Newton FUDGE a result ? " Does

    Brown understand the magnitude of this slander ?

         I can assure the reader that if his " Principia " was FUDGED, we

    would never have put a satellite in orbit , never mind explore the outer

    Solar System!

             One thing a top scientist would  NEVER do is FUDGE a result.Since

    science is experimental and self-correcting, he or she risks disgrace

    for eternity by doing this- deceiving fellow scientists in their glorious

    pursuit of knowledge of the  Universe ( you might say the very Mind of

    God )

        Seth - if you try to fool too many people at once, " you'll probably

    get caught ". If I am mistaken here my humble apology !

Article unfair to British police

         According to an article titled " Racial slaying in Britain still

    troubling after 5 years " (  Providence Journal, page A9, July 12) -

     Stephen Lawrence has become " the most famous black murder victim in

    British history ". We then read that his death " has exposed the

    inadequacy of the overwhelming white police in investigating such

    crimes. "

         Hear! Hear !  If you reject the ultra-left and lunatic fringe

    notion that cops everywhere in the countries of Western Civilization

    are " racist pigs ", then you must assume that the average honorable

    British cop very much wants to solve this heinous hate crime. Everywhere

    the professional cop  is determined to catch the despicable criminal -

    whatever the cop's or the criminal's race.

          Are the five suspects in this murder case as obviously GUILTY as

    our very own O.J. Simpson ?  Are white police in general inadequate

    to solve race related crimes just because they are white ? Isn't this

    as silly as suggesting that white doctors are " inadequate " in

    treating  black  patients ? Does your RACE alone guarantee that you are

    a RACIST ?  Blacks and Whites should think about this with the Gray Matter

    of their God-given ( hmm ! ) brains .

Article unfair to British police

         According to an article titled " Racial slaying in Britain still

    troubling after 5 years " (  Providence Journal, page A9, July 12) -

     Stephen Lawrence has become " the most famous black murder victim in

    British history ". We then read that his death " has exposed the

    inadequacy of the overwhelming white police in investigating such

    crimes. "

         Hear! Hear !  If you reject the ultra-left and lunatic fringe

    notion that cops everywhere in the countries of Western Civilization

    are " racist pigs ", then you must assume that the average honorable

    British cop very much wants to solve this heinous hate crime. Everywhere

    the professional cop  is determined to catch the despicable criminal -

    whatever the cop's or the criminal's race.

          Are the five suspects in this murder case as obviously GUILTY as

    our very own O.J. Simpson ?  Are white police in general inadequate

    to solve race related crimes just because they are white ? Isn't this

    as silly as suggesting that white doctors are " inadequate " in

    treating  black  patients ? Does your RACE alone guarantee that you are

    a RACIST ?  Blacks and Whites should think about this with the Gray Matter

    of their God-given ( hmm ! ) brains .

Hair Flinging Females

A person complains to Ann Landers today about women who fling their

    hair -now to the front then to the back, now to the right and then to

    the left. In elevators this behavior can be quite annoying. But if you

    challenge it -even politely - you may get a DIRTY LOOK. " Tell me, Ann,

    is this suppose to be a sexual come-on or what ? "

        Ann replies : ..." I believe hair flinging began with a commercial

    for a shampoo ".

          The message ,of course, was that voluptuous looking hair would

    attract a desirable male and the woman would live happily ever after.

        Only  in TV commercials ! Hair flinging does seem to be a pantomime

    of hair washing. But there is another interpretation suggested by a

    memorable scene in the Rodgers & Hammerstein movie " South Pacific ":

        Nellie Forbush , frustrated in a love pursuit of Emile De Becque

    ( Rosanno Brazzi) , begins singing :" I'm gonna wash that man right

    outa my hair. I'm gonna wash that man right outa of my hair...And

    send him on his way !  "

         But does the hair flinger have to do it in an elevator ? All

    love affairs have their ups and downs !

City's ugliest building

            I've been wanting to express this opinion for years now: The

        ugliest building in downtown Providence - maybe in downtown Anywhere -

        is the Blue Cross building located at One Weybosset St. It is a hideous,

        tasteless block of urban real estate - and should be condemned by the

        EPA for its COLOR alone. Yes, I am prejudiced against SOME colors !

        That filthy Army camouflage color of One Weybosset St. ! It looks as

        if it were smeared with mud that dried out after monsoon rains.

             Perhaps the whole building can be relocated somewhere in

        Rangoon -in a combat zone. The architect of that building should be

        forced to read the Complete Works of Dave Brussat. Then he should

        get a job washing his monstrosity building's windows !

------------------
     Ron - Your note made my day. I agree with you. The BCBS Building (which
    in a column a while back I denominated the Black & Blue Building) was in the
    news recently when Joe Paolino proposed to move the police headquarters there so a hotel could be placed on the HQ site. He proposed resurfacing the hideous box in an equally boring, albeit perhaps somewhat less hideous, set of blue mirrors. I gave it the thumbs down, in spite of an unusually fierce campaign of buttering me up. He then asked me to help him redesign the BCBS facade in a more agreeable way, which I did, suggesting that it be wholly refaced with a more traditional building facade. This was done, but by then it was too late to rescue the project from the Wasserman/Mesollela combine, which is now running with the ball, and whose project is unrelated to the BCBS. But here's hoping it will collapse. (At night, of course.) And thank you again for your kind words. "Works of Dave Brussat" indeed!
        - Dave 

Word Cops Strike Again!

I must have been living under a rock ! I did not even suspect that

    the term " mental patient " is " both archaic and offensive " until

    letter writer Steven A. Brinker - with his " extensive experience in

    the mental health profession " - pointed this out to me. ( " Don't

    call them 'mental patients', "  Providence Journal, July 8 )

       Perhaps in the enlightened future there will be no more " drug addicts "

    or even " coronary patients ". Beware of  offensive stereotypes!

       So now " mental patient " is the moral equivalent of the N-word ?

      Have we made REAL progress in our treatment of the " psychiatrically

    challenged " ?  Perhaps these are the people who actually get to be

    treated by psychiatrists. But what about those - let me use an even cruder

    term - CRAZY PEOPLE we see all over the place in a city like Providence ?

       Have our enlightened social workers - so sensitive with WORDS - discovered

    that they don't really exists as potential " psychiatric patients " ?  Only

    people who think in terms of stereotypes - such as yours truly - actually

    see a scandalous crime of NEGLECT here .

       Writes Steven Brinker : " There are no MENTAL HOSPITALS for MENTAL

    PATIENTS ". And that my smug " social worker " is just the problem !

        The language police think that by changing WORDS we can change

    REALITY . HUMBUG !

Sorrentino's " Poster Boy " FDR

        Talk show personality Mary Ann Sorrentino's guest column in the

    Providence Journal today ( " Don't turn FDR into a poster boy "- July 7,

    Commentary page ) reflects her keen mind better than her rather degenerate

    talk show chatter. Her opening sentence referring to the FDR -in- wheelchair

    " storm troopers " reminded me of a passage in the Nathanael West novel of

    Hollywood ," The Day of the Locust ":

       " They are relentless,coming over the Virginia hills...wave after wave of

    people in wheel chairs, platoons of the mentally and emotionally disadvantaged,

    legions of angry Americans ... ".

       They all want the satisfaction of worshiping at the  new shrine of ONE

    very special celebrity - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a crippled but inspired

    and optimistic man in a wheel chair. They want the FDR memorial to display

    him before the country as one of THEM .

       Pointing out that FDR himself and his family would probably be offended

    by this sight, Sorrentino wants the " spineless " politicians - who can

    walk- to JUST SAY NO to this impassioned mob, many of whom can walk no better

    than their idolized president.

        I understand her argument here: Did FDR want to be perceived and remembered

    as a CRIPPLE.( Hitler in his bunker -defeated - referred to him as just that )

        But I must disagree with Mary Ann - if only mildly. Would the FDR -in-wheel

    chair memorial make an utter " poster boy " mockery out of this very remarkable

    president ? Cannot the wretched hordes have him as their symbol of HOPE ? Who

    today does not know that FDR was a polio victim who led a " crippled " country

    from his wheel chair ?

        I fear that the greatest disservice to the memory of FDR is the conservative

    Congress, hostile to everything he believed in . He believed ardently in the

    HELPING HAND of government. For many of the relatively privileged in our co

    country he still THAT MAN- a damned SOCIALIST-even though he actually saved

    capitalism.

       I hope HAPPY DAYS will soon be here again for the platoons of the wretched

    and have nots. Is there a wheel chair in YOUR future ?

                             Ron Ruggieri  699c Church Ave. Warwick, R.I

     401-732-0215

     ( I noticed some glaring typos in the earlier letter. I guessed my

    coffee was not strong enough this morning ! ) I GUESSED ? Oh well!

John Martin is right

What do prudes have in common with the sexually vulgar ? An

    unhealthy obsession with sex! Even a normal adolescent may have stronger

    interests in life than sex -such as sports or cars or physics or music

    or architecture. If I had an adolescent child, I would recommend two or

    three books on the subject of human sexual behavior that will do for a

    lifetime. Only professionals or morons will find it their main interest in

    life.

         John Martin - I am sure - is not only  man with the B...S  to put

    that offensive  Mary Ann Sorrentino in her place. YEARS AGO  I decided

    that I could not take a half a minute of her- and not because of any innate

    conservatism on my part.

       The the last time I heard her filthy mouth -by accident - on the radio,

    she was making a reference to some male's inadequate penis ( " You need

    a magnifying glass to see it! "  - near quote  ) .

       You don't need a magnifying glass to see the hole in her head . She

    once struck me as intelligent woman worth listening to. Perhaps some

    personal unhappiness has poisoned her life.

        But she survives the rating game .Radio in general is terrible nowadays.

    But it still has enormous potential to deliver quality entertainment.

         Who wants to invest in QUALITY? May I suggest that we name a future

    radio station after A.S.F ? A  Fein Music Station ?

       I don't have the ..... to ask him !

A difference between Providence and Cranston, R.I

Vacationers should know that one notable difference between  Warwick

    and Cranston, R.I is the quality of the Del's lemonade. I suspected

    this last summer but I did not call the police or the FBI or even write

    one of my rare letters to the editor. Today I am convinced that the Del's

    lemonade around the corner from my Church Ave. apartment in Warwick is

    much sweeter than the Del's lemonade down the road on Park Ave. in Cranston

    near the Park Cinema.

          Does the owner of the sour lemonade store in Cranston have something

    in common with my friend Paul, the owner of a coin laundry that never seemed

    to have hot water ? Did I see Paul wearing a VOTE REPUBLICAN button one

    bright,early November day?

         With sour Republican lemons you cannot even make good lemonade !

" Declaration " at Burger King

The main editorial in the Boston Globe this July 4th was a

    fitting reprint of the 1776  " Declaration of Independence ". At first

    it seemed mere patriotic ritual to me. I must have first " read " the

    historic document when I was about 12 years old. The fiery passion of

    justified REBELLION was clear to me. But the wording a little too

    ponderous- like hearing your father argue with a hard hearted bill

    collector over the phone. Of course you were on Pop's side! On the side

    of HUMAN RIGHTS as opposed to mere OFFICIAL RIGHTS.

        But this morning I was disposed to read  the American " Declaration

    of Independence " - more carefully than ever before. Now I understood

    every paragraph. Indeed a very RINGING document! This was not revolution

    for the hell of it. Authority in the colonies had become too tyrannical

    and outrageous.  True the document expressed the indignation of a hardly

    impoverished merchant class. But they were MEN- honorable MEN - first.

    And they had HAD IT with the Crown. The " Declaration " still sizzles

    on the 4th of July ! And still inspires the world.

Wise Column today ! (Froma Harrop)

        I just read your column this morning. Loved it ! But why are these

    people so out of touch ? In my opinion even quite privileged people can

    be deprived of a life saving sense of REALITY -if they move in very

    narrow social circles, never really communicating with people -good and

    bad, smart and dumb, likable and obnoxious- outside their  narrow social

    circle. They forget that in a DEMOCRACY just about everybody can vote!

       Their is nothing absolute about PUBLIC OPINION . You can affect it or

    modify it. But people must be disposed to listen to you. They generally

    listen to people who listen to them.

          Have a nice day !      ron

- - - - - - - - -
  From: froma_harrop@ProJo.COM ("FHARROP.PJB.PROJO.COM")
    To: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov
    Subject: Re: Wise Column today !
    Date: Fri, 03 Jul



    --Boundary-1312147-0-0

    Thanks for your note. I suspect not every reader will agree. 

    Froma

Citizens Bank " profit " !

        I do my modest, I admit, banking at Citizens Bank. I keep a pauper's

    sum of money in my account ( 0047967279 ) for the sole purpose of being

    able to cash my paycheck there on Fridays. My pathetic account never

    earned a penny profit for me. But it must be quite profitable for the

    owners of Citizens Bank. They must make a not so small fortune from

    humble people's petty bank accounts.

        I have two receipts from the bank. One of them is dated  26BUN98 . It

    is a deposit for the grand sum of $10.00  CASH  ( THANK YOU ). Today

    I needed that money . Today is 02JUL98 . The bank teller gave me one of

    those looks reserved for dead rats. I could only withdraw $8.00. I was

    charged $2.00 for their SERVICE. They deducted the $2.00 from only $10.00

    that I had in the bank FOR LESS THAN A WEEK !

          No doubt they explain this with the usual banking business gibberish.

    But I have a gut feeling it is a RACKET . THANK YOU !

Anti-Semitic Church ?

 Reading David LaFleche 's crudely anti-Catholic letter ( " Anti-

    Semitic Church "   , July 1 ) , I must ask : Just where is he coming

    from ? Has been living under the  Rock of Ages for too long ? The

    name does not sound Jewish; indeed most Jews today do not, nor have

    they any reason to, perceive  the Catholic Church as an implacable

    foe of Jews and of the Jewish State of Israel.

        He refers us to some obscure book in which the Church's abominable

    Anti-Semitism is " fully documented ". I must point  out that Hitler

    himself " fully documented " his case against the Jews in " Mein Kampf ".

    So much for " fully documented " books !

        I am not a practicing Catholic feeling a moral obligation to defend

    the Church against its numerous religious enemies. But malicious nonsense

    is just that !

         I attended parochial school for two critical years - 7th and 8th

    grade- in the early 60s. I recall no systematic indoctrination in Anti-

    Semitism.


             The bigoted individual Catholic is a stock character of

    realistic fiction. The the best parody of this type can be found in

    the novels and short stories of James T. Farrell.

          I believe that the Catholic Church is honestly trying to undo

    the damage done by the anti-Semitism generally characteristic of

    Dark Age  ignorance.

          What was does not have to be forever. This is true of all

    institutions, human or " divine ".


           Does Israel need friends like Mr. David LaFleche ?