Thanks for the early Christmas present. I haven't read the article yet, but the pictures say it all—Ricky rocks!
Sharon McClenathan, Omaha
Ricky couldn't find anyone who wanted to go to India and Nepal with him? Give him my number.
Patricia Hachey, Ottawa
It is so refreshing to have you feature an artist like Ricky Martin, with real morals and respect for others. This is a man who deserves to be respected by all, even if some don't like his music. (It's their loss.)
Chris Grimado, Budd Lake, N.J.
This man is a godsend.
Debbie Bergmanis, Toronto
Ricky is the sexiest thing to happen since that hunka hunka burnin' love came out of Tennessee!
Jeanne Bart, Atlanta
I think you guys missed the target completely by naming Brad Pitt the Sexiest Man Alive for this year. Ricky Martin should have definitely captured that title. He's got it all...good looks, talent, and charisma to boot. We readers demand a recount!
Lori Grilli, Whittier, Calif.
I am so sick and tired of questions about Ricky's sexuality, and I applaud him for keeping it to himself. Whether or not he's gay doesn't make his talent any less awesome. Whether you're male or female, you simply cannot deny that he's gorgeous and truly gifted.
Jeannette A. Pace, Vineland, N.J.
Here in Tennessee we find that humility in a man is far more attractive than the ability to shake his "bon-bon" all over America. Thanks, but no thanks. We would rather sit down with a carton of Moose Tracks ice cream and a good Matthew Perry movie.
Sunny Hammonds and Mandy Taylor Martin, Tenn.
I am sooo thrilled to see Ricky on the cover again. He should have been the Sexiest Man Alive, but that's another story.
Cheryl Hensley, Valley Center, Kans.
Les Franklin
God bless Les Franklin. That a parent can lose two children to suicide is so sad. I lost my younger brother to suicide seven years ago, and it still cuts like a knife. Les has gone on record about suicide, talking about it and helping others learn to listen to their kids. It's a one-day-at-a-time thing. You cry, you go on, you remember little things, but you never forget why they died.
Lynn Gilbode, Middleboro, Mass.
Reading of Les Franklin and his tragic loss reminded me of something I hadn't thought of for years. I grew up in a small Kansas town where the suicide rate took more than 10 of my classmates. We often talked about what caused the loss of our friends and neighbors—sometimes more than one in the same family—and no answers were clear. It saddens me to think that in a society where even successful people see killing themselves as the only recourse, we haven't seen that the only solution is a simple one: Love, listen and never give up. The tears in my eyes are not just for Mr. Franklin and his family but for the friends I lost and the dreams that will go unfulfilled.
C.J. Cole, Wichita, Kans.
Katherine Harris
It's a real shame Katherine Harris didn't back the people who work for her—all the election supervisors and their staffs who worked round the clock and through the holiday to count each vote. Instead, their work was summarily dismissed by this obviously partisan official.
Lynn Davis, Jacksonville, Fla.
I am a Republican, though Katherine Harris makes me ashamed to admit it. In a willful abuse of her power, she has attempted to subjugate the will of the people. Had she done the right thing, encouraged hand counts instead of trying to stop them, we might now have a winner that people could believe that they, not the government, chose. I am struck by the irony of Mr. Bush's question during the final debate: "Who do you trust, the government or the people?"
Mary Howard, San Jose, Calif.
I was very disappointed in your article on Katherine Harris, which focused more on her appearance than her politics. I have never read an article about any male politician which spoke of his appearance in this way. How can women be taken seriously as leaders when they are perceived as objects?
Kate Bueler, San Francisco
Al Gore is no match for a woman who picks up a live possum with her bare hands. Scary!
Anne Brodsky, Hartford, Conn.
Ken Behring
The greatest gift that tycoon Ken Behring can give the world is to stop needlessly killing animals. The picture of him smiling over the dead body of that magnificent lion sickened me. With all his power and wealth and the opportunities they allow him, why does he have to kill animals to feel like a big man?
Janice Adams, Seneca, S.C.
While I agree that Mr. Behring's work for the disabled and generous gifts to the Smithsonian are admirable, I found the photo showing him grinning proudly over a lion's carcass greatly disturbing. It seems incongruous that a man seemingly devoted to providing a better quality of life to humans would have such little regard for animals. While Mr. Behring's wealth has enabled him to do much good, it has also provided him the opportunity to travel great distances to exotic locations in order to snuff out the lives of some of the most majestic of God's creatures for sport.
Catharine Carter, Hudson, Ohio
Hosea Williams
I would like to extend my thanks for your article on the late Hosea Williams. Yet I can't help but be a bit distressed over the fact that more magazines, newscasts and newspapers are not making a bigger deal about his passing. In the middle of all the controversy in the Florida recounts, a man who risked his life in getting people the right to vote passes on, yet nobody knows?
Kristi Ng, San Francisco
Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones
A beauty, a baby, an old man and a dumped wife. Again Hollywood glamorizes what most people consider disgusting. I wonder how glamorous it will all be in 10 years when Michael is pushing 70 and Catherine realizes it's not all roses waking up to a man older than her father.
Bonnie Peyton, Scottsdale, Ariz.
If some guy approached me the first time I met him with the line "I want to father your children"—especially if he was old enough to grandfather them—I think I would head for cover. Second, whatever it is Michael Douglas has done to himself, he looks scary nestled cheek by jowl next to his youthful bride.
Lora Fremont, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
These two individuals start fooling around when the man is still legally married, have a son out of wedlock, are worth an estimated $200 million, she wears a $5,000 gown at the rehearsal dinner, they have a lavish $1.5 million wedding plus a $5,000-a-night suite at the Plaza Hotel, and they want their guests to contribute to a fund for their son? Pathetic is the only word that applies to these two.
Sally Richter, via e-mail
Style Watch
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the comments regarding detachable fur collars. According to L.A. stylist Jeanne Yang, "You'll be in season this year, and next year you can toss it away." Why not give it back to the animal? Oh, you can't—it's dead. These people are just disgusting.
Patie Hansen, San Diego
Tina Turner
If Tina Turner is using a special kind of lotion to keep her skin looking so young, then hand it over, because she's looking mm-mm-good!
Becky Bonham, Sandy, Utah
Mailbag
I am angry with some of your readers who wrote in suggesting that Russell Crowe should have been Sexiest Man Alive. It's obvious they have no perception of what a real man is, least of all the true embodiment of sexiness, which includes not only looks but loyalty, commitment, trust, love, honesty, manners and above all integrity—all of which Brad Pitt represents.
Susanne Branch, Tampa
For the ladies who bashed Brad Pitt's picture: Would any of you kick him out of your bed? We all know that pictures don't do justice to how beautiful a person really is. Maybe you're just jealous because you wish you were Jennifer Aniston-Pitt.
Tracy Beyer, Sioux Falls, S.Dak.
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!
