Mary Kay Letourneau
Mary Kay Letourneau's sickeningly sweet, doe-eyed demeanor and baby voice make me ill. No matter how unstable she may be emotionally, she is not stupid. I agree with her husband that she made a choice—one that did not include the four children she brought into this world with a man her own age.
Regina Jornod Learman
Spring Lake, Mich.
Just when I think people can't get any nuttier, I read the story on Mary Kay Letourneau. She should be locked away until menopause.
M. Campbell, Wausau, Wis.
There are others of us out there who have "crossed the line." When I first met the love of my life he was 13—I was 33. Shocking, yes, but there was something about him that touched my soul. When he was 17 our first child was born. I married him when he was 19, right before the birth of our second child. Each day our love grows stronger. We deal with a lot of small-minded people on a daily basis and have endured a lot of abuse from relatives, strangers, social workers and just plain jerks who think they are the protectors of society's moral values. Mary Kay should have waited until her lover was older. She should not be jailed but encouraged to get premarital counseling along with her young lover. If it is meant to be, it will be. I wish them luck, happiness, love and, most of all, the tolerance of a narrow-minded society.
Name Withheld
A 36-year-old man who sleeps with a 13-year-old girl is called a pedophile; a 36-year-old woman who sleeps with a 13-year-old boy is a "manic-depressive, prone to reckless behavior." Pass me a bucket!
Kelli Felton-Lindsay, Columbus, Ga.
Mary Kay Letourneau should be spayed like a stray animal. She's not sane enough to keep herself out of trouble, much less take on the responsibility of children.
Kristen Disher, Gainesville, Fla.
As a teacher, I find Mary Kay Letourneau's actions appalling. She should be punished to the full extent for abusing her profession. It is those of us who do our jobs as they should be done who will pay for her actions.
Bill McCarthy, San Francisco
Letourneau has destroyed the lives of six children in one way or another and has another victim due in November.
Linda K. Head, North Hollywood
Dr. Benjamin Spock
A a young mother left alone for the first time with her newborn son, I was panic-stricken until I remembered a book an acquaintance had given me. From the very first chapter—"Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do"—to explaining how to fold a diaper, Dr. Spock gave me the courage to be a mother. He was with me through colic and croup, and taught me the difference between measles and chicken pox. Feeding and toilet training were no problems, and he was my guide through tantrums and puberty. I have eight great children, ages 12 through 27, who are nice, normal people. Genes and heredity played their parts, but I truly believe that Dr. Spock and his trust in my common sense was the catalyst that made it all happen.
Valerie Golebiewski, Tucson
Kim Tannahill
I find it troubling to see that after everything Bruce Willis and Demi Moore did for their former nanny Kim Tannahill, she is suing them. They obviously opened their hearts and their home to her. The trust that parents have to have in nannies to leave their children with them is great. She broke that trust by talking about their personal lives. Any good nanny would never do that.
Emily Pateris, via e-mail
If life was so bad working for Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, why did Kim Tannahill keep on doing it? It is obvious what type of hours and responsibility you would have working for two successful professionals, especially movie stars! If the rough life includes half-carat diamond earrings, vacations in Europe, a personal trainer, a top-dollar dermatologist and liposuction, where can I send my résumé?
Becki Gates, Canal Winchester, Ohio
What puzzles and concerns me is why anyone would entrust their children to someone clearly not qualified to care for them. With the resources available to this high-powered, two-income duo, surely they could afford the services of an educated child-care professional. Though well-intentioned, they were obtuse to trust their children's care to an emotionally unbalanced former T-shirt store clerk.
Kathleen Valerio, Lake Grove, N.Y.
Dr. Alvin Cooper
The interview with sex-addiction expert Dr. Cooper, a Stanford University professor of psychiatry, was appalling. Dr. Cooper has speculated on President Clinton's personal life, and millions of individuals have read this article. To make such assumptions about anyone's life is not only gross, distasteful and unfair, it is extremely unprofessional.
Deborah Gilson, Woodside, Calif.
Insider
So Tara Lipinski is fatigued and ill and therefore cannot compete in the world championships? Gee, she sure didn't look it in the Academy Awards party footage on television! No matter what her father says, it is obvious that Tara will not tarnish that gold-medal performance and all the money that comes with it by risking defeat in the world championships.
D. Henry, Mt. Laurel, N.J.
Rupert the Parrot
After reading the article about Rupert the African gray parrot saving his owner Lynn Norley's life in a fire, I wanted to take the magazine and pummel her over the head with it! How could she even consider leaving Rupert in the house and just taking her two dogs to escape the fire? Even if poor Rupert were dead, good golly, grays aren't that large. All she had to do was stick him in the pocket of her robe and get the hell out of there!
Beth Newby, Radford, Va.
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