Super Bowl

To the Editors:

Dreams can come true. Thank you 49ers and Joe Montana [Jan. 25] for giving us inspiration.

Roger Reedy Jr San Luis Obispo, Calif

Your photograph of San Francisco's Joe Montana captured the elation and determination of a fine quarterback. Montana is the perfect symbol of this year's 49er team.

Joe Baldez Bethesda, Md.

Little wonder you write that Joe Montana is a natural. Any kid seven or eight months old who waits for his dad with a ball and bat in his hand has to be something special.

Brian Mirsky Baltimore

The 49ers have struck gold in Joe Montana.

Daniel F. O'Connell San Francisco

Growing up in a 49er stronghold, my family and I were accustomed to constant disappointment and frustration. Now, after 35 years of waiting, my father is the most alive and excited I've ever seen him. Jean Williams Calistoga, Calif.

Fear of Flying

In the wake of the tragedy of Air Florida Flight 90 [Jan. 25], airlines should set up final de-icing procedures where and when it will do the most good--at the end of the taxiing runway just prior to takeoff. Laurence J. McCaffery Butte, Mont.

Any consideration of major air disasters in recent years will reveal that a great many crashes were related to unsatisfactory weather conditions. As commendable as the safety record is for commercial aviation, it would be more outstanding if pilots had greater respect for foul weather and the effect it can have on the performance of an aircraft.

Paul L. Harrington Apple Valley, Minn.

Many times during a winter snow I have sat at the airport as attendants sprayed de-icer on the wings. Nevertheless, I always felt assured that the airline, the FAA, the professionals in the tower and the pilot had analyzed all the factors necessary for a safe takeoff. I never worried. Well, maybe we should worry. The FAA needs to rethink the rules on flying in inclement weather.

Norman L. Kautsky Littleton, Colo.

Unknown Hero

The heart skips a beat after reading "The Man in the Water" [Jan. 25]. Man can be cruel, murdering, raping and kidnaping; yet in the next instance he can be redeemed by giving his life for others.

Chuck Bastian Gaines, Pa.

"The Man in the Water" pulls many of us from icy cynicism and self-pity.

Gerald H. Zellers Oberlin, Ohio

When TIME selects its next Man of he Year, don't forget the "Man in the Water."

Mary Ann Transue Newtown, Pa.

The man in the water did not lose his fight; he won--the lives of four people.

Paul Hayward Grier Due West, S.C.

"The Man in the Water" and the story of Convict-Celebrity Jack Henry Abbott portray the astonishing range of human character under stress. The man in the Potomac responded to unyielding nature with transcendent heroism. Abbott is accused of reacting to an indifferent society with random viciousness.

Philip G. Wik Bartlett, III.

Author-Murderer

In your article on the convicted killer Jack Abbott, "He Was Dead" [Jan. 25], you should have emphasized society's perennial burden, the idle rich looking for a cause celebre. Norman Mailer's shortsighted idealism in urging the release of Abbott is an example of the artist's inability to separate fact from fancy. Super do-gooders like Mailer never tire of seeing the individual as he should be while others must deal with man as he is.

Thomas A. Comeau Topsham, Me.

Lack of Sensitivity

Through its decision to grant tax-exempt status to racially segregated institutions [Jan. 25], the Reagan Administration might have unwittingly reunited th old "liberal coalition." This group of ethnics, union members, intellectuals, libera Democrats and Republicans, parted way during the past decade. The cleavage seemed irreconcilable until Presiden Reagan raised this odious specter from the past.

David L. Evans, Senior Admissions Officer Harvard-Radcliffe Cambridge, Mass

With regard to tax breaks for segregated schools: either President Reagan knew what he was doing, in which case he's a racist, or he didn't realize the broader implications of his actions, which certainly implies he is totally out of touch with reality.

Mark Teaford Baltimore

Flood of Mud

The mud slides in California [Jan. 18] were in part the result of forcing nature into performing unnatural feats. Many homeowners clear the land of trees and build on a precipice in order to have a bird's-eye view of the landscape. These nature lovers deface entire sides of mountains with no understanding of the crime they are committing.

Norma S. Tentindo Bridgewater, Mass.

People gamble when they choose to live along mountain slopes prone to mud slides, rivers inclined to serious flooding, or on fault zones, coastal dunes and other naturally hazardous areas. Trying to ignore or outsmart Mother Nature is inevitably a losing strategy--often with tragic consequences.

Jeffrey J. Gordon, Assistant Professor of

Geography

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio

Expensive Squeeze

It seems that the cold weather [Jan. 25] had hardly been forecast for Florida when the price of orange juice began to rise. My brand went from 89-c- to $1.11 on the first day of the freeze. Our family has switched to apple juice.

Dave Yensan Aberdeen, Md.

Commuting Couples

My husband and I are among the 700,000 commuter couples dealing with long-distance marriages [Jan. 25]. I am a librarian at the University of Hartford in Connecticut; he is a professor in Seoul, Korea. I visit Seoul during the summer; my husband comes "home" during the winter vacation. Our seven-year-old son is adjusted to the situation and proud of his parents' respective professions. It is our fourth year commuting over the Pacific, and our marriage is as sound as ever.

Kyung-Za Chang Simsbury, Conn.

Game Blitz

Your article neglected to mention another benefit of playing video games [Jan. 18]--improved driving. As an ambulance officer, I have had many a game interrupted by an emergency call. One's alertness, driving skill and road sense are noticeably enhanced.

Ramon Laidlaw Blackburn, Australia

As a former city councilman and principal architect of Buffalo's new ordinance regulating video arcades, I read with interest your story "Games That Play People." You correctly note that communities with troublemaking youngsters had problems before the arcades opened. However, you overlook the fact that these hangouts often act as magnets, attracting young people who harass or frighten the clientele of surrounding businesses. Expert testimony before the Buffalo Common Council indicates a correlation between arcades and an increase in juvenile crime. Game centers can be well run. More frequently they become headaches for parents, neighborhood business people and community residents.

Scott W. Gehl Buffalo

Busting the Giants

Assistant Attorney General William Baxter vowed to litigate A T & T to the eyeballs [Jan. 18]. Yet the company gives us the best telephone service in the world. It employs 1 million people, has a pension fund never touched by scandal, is well managed and pays regular dividends to 3 million stockholders. As a taxpayer, I protest the $15 million spent pursuing this case. As a stockholder, I resent the $360 million AT&T expended defending itself. As a consumer, I will unquestionably be hurt.

Mac D. Armstrong Milwaukee

It took the Government 13 years to decide finally the IBM antitrust case was "without merit and should be dismissed." Ah, justice!

Ruthella Kamerling Pikeville, Tenn.

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