Katie has been through more than her share of sorrows, but does she have to contribute to someone else's sorrow by pursuing a married man one month into his separation? And what kind of value system is PEOPLE promoting by writing about her newfound "happiness" when her boyfriend's wife and three kids are probably aching unimaginably? I want America's Morning Sweetheart to have a personal life as much as the next person, but not if she has to steal someone else's husband during a vulnerable time between him and his wife.
Kim Jackson, Alexandria, Va.
Was that a misprint—$7,500 per week for a fitness trainer? That's $390,000 per year! The only way Kathie Jo Howell could be worth that is if she could exercise and diet for someone else.
Suzanne Galloway, Marietta, Ga.
While I am happy for Katie's new life, I wonder why people would be surprised by it? Here she is, a famous woman, lovely to look at, with lots of money. It wouldn't be difficult for her to pick up the pieces and move on. Not that I mean to downplay her tragedy, but there are thousands of us out here, men and women, who might be even more of an inspiration because we lack the money, the prestige and the power that opens doors for Katie.
Elizabeth A. Nilsen, Metuchen, N.J.
When you lose someone you love, you have two choices—you can die or you can live. Glad you chose the latter, Katie.
Toni M. Elkins, Columbia, S.C.
Dr. Jody Steinauer
As I read your article about Jody Steinauer and her "mission" to see that the teaching of abortion techniques is reinstituted in medical schools, I was appalled. I thought the goal of the medical profession was to preserve human life. It is time for those in the field of medicine and elsewhere to stand up and speak out against this form of legalized murder.
Jan Bauer, Guymon, Okla.
I am personally against abortion, but I cannot help but be happy that Dr. Steinauer is there for those who have decided there is no other choice for them. In a world where abortion is a reality, is it not far better to give a safe alternative to the barbaric and deadly procedures of the past? Is it not better to counsel women on the ramifications of their choices and then to support their decisions with a safe alternative by trained physicians—or by pointing them in the right direction if they choose to keep their child?
M. Brunet, via e-mail
Ralph Nader
When I learned that Ralph Nader was running for President, I was overjoyed. Here is a man who has been facilitating positive change in our country for years. Unlike Bush and Gore, Nader accepted no soft-money contributions to his campaign. He was not allowed to debate, yet he won three percent of the vote. His exclusion from the debates allowed Gore and Bush to continue skirting issues that he would have forced them to discuss.
Suzanne McIntire, via e-mail
Nan Kempner
Nan Kempner's husband says he can't remember her saying anything hurtful, but she tells a magazine that she "loathes fat people." If that isn't hurtful, I don't know what is. At least I'm not prejudiced against half the population of the U.S. I only pity skinny, bigoted socialites.
Nancy Zaltz, Eden Prairie,
I have no desire to read about people like Nan Kempner, who have never had to work a day in their lives and are famous only for their lavish lifestyles and parties. What a waste of my time and your paper.
Rebecca Oles, Marine City, Mich.
Star Tracks
What a touching photo of a mother and a newborn coming home from the hospital. It would even be more touching if Jerry Seinfeld's wife didn't look as if she were carrying a football.
Barbara Bosley, Birch Run, Mich.
Cheryl Tiegs
I am so tired of reading about celebrities who think they have it so horrible because they have to take care of their own children. Cheryl Tiegs credits her calm to meditation and yoga practice? How about crediting her calm to her live-in nanny?
Brandi Kendziora, Spring, Texas
Does Cheryl Tiegs realize how "scared" every parent is after a child is born—especially with multiple births? She should be in the real world—the one where the mother has to work three days after the twins are born, with no help from friends or family or a nanny to get them on schedule. This is the real world, Cheryl. Pop another bonbon in your mouth and relax.
Beth Jennings, Superior, Wis.
How exciting! Cheryl Tiegs pays someone to have babies for her so she can pay a nanny to take care of them while she's busy at photo shoots and her husband is out of town.
Stacey Arroyo, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif,
Etta Kralovec
As a mother, private tutor and former elementary school teacher, I take serious exception to Etta Kralovec's suggestion that the school day be lengthened so that homework may be done at school. Providing help with homework is part of our job as parents, not one more responsibility to be handed over to classroom teachers. School districts do need to concentrate on the quality rather than the quantity of homework, but parents need to accept all of their duties as parents. Abolishing homework or pushing the parents' responsibility on already underpaid teachers (who have their own children to take care of) is not a reasonable answer.
Julie McIntosh, Piano, Texas
I am not a schoolteacher, just a mother of four, all of whom are grown up with children of their own. I watch with a heavy heart as my two grandchildren come home with backpacks loaded down with homework. When do these children get time to be children and play outside with friends? They are programmed to do their homework, go to baseball practice, religious school, etc. Are we trying to make geniuses of all our children? What about being well-adjusted, happy people?
Beverly Wertheimer, Encino, Calif.
As a working mother of two school-age boys, I have one word to say to Etta: Brava! She's absolutely right. I am tired of my school district asking me to homeschool my children.
Anne E. Barschall, Tarrytown, N.Y.
While I agree that students shouldn't be assigned excessive homework, Etta Kralovec's proposal to "end homework as we know it" is ridiculous. Yes, some assignments are designed to involve parents in their children's education, but parents need to be involved. More and more, the duties and responsibilities of parents are being dumped onto educators. To expect teachers to pick up where uninvolved parents leave off is what's unfair—not the homework.
Tricia Eilerman, Collinsville, Ill.
Melanie Griffith
Simple subtraction shows that 43-year-old Melanie Griffith's problems in the early '90s with alcohol and other drugs were not the mistakes of her "fast-living youth," as your article puts it. She must have been in her 30s. It's time to admit that adults make mistakes just as surely as adolescents do. Euphemisms about youthful experimentation should be discarded as the PR evasions of politicians and celebrities.
Tom Traub, Foster City, Calif.
Style Watch
I really got ticked reading about Pamela Anderson's "searing soliloquy" toward the fur-wearing lady at LAX. We've all seen Pamela clad in enough tight leather to know that she could tell us exactly how it feels to wear "dead animals."
Anissa Pitts, via e-mail
Mailbag
Correspondent Beth Centers wrote that she couldn't understand how Paul McCartney could be in love again only two years after the death of his wife, Linda. Why shouldn't he have romance in his life? Shortly after my mother passed away, my father found a new companion. At first I was outraged and hurt that he could replace her that quickly. However, once I got to know his companion and saw that she kept my father from being so lonely, I felt very selfish. He was hurting just as badly as I was, and I began to appreciate that he could feel some happiness after his wife of almost 50 years had passed away. He wasn't replacing her; he was just doing the best he could do to survive.
Sandra Gonzalez, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Being a widow myself, I do not find it unusual that Paul McCartney wants to be in love again. Once you have had a great love in your life, it is natural to want to love again. Obviously Beth Centers does not understand. Only someone who has lost a spouse would understand.
Mary Nevin, Westland, Mich.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
