Letters

How to Get Healthier

"Repairing The Damage" [HEALTH, FEB. 5] was a balanced, informative and timely report. While continuing research into lifestyle activity will contribute to even more realistic recommendations, your story provided a helpful summary of where we are to date. I would add three additional considerations. First, we must begin to align the notion of fun with activity that is inherently health promoting. Second, we must acknowledge that risk-related behaviors usually have developed over several years and that it takes time to adopt new, healthier habits. Finally, beginning any healthy lifestyle change can lead to one of the greatest motivators of all--hope. GARY D. GILMORE La Crosse, Wis.

You have done a great public service by reminding people--who, one hopes, will read "Repairing the Damage" while riding an exercise bike--that it is never too late to adopt simple habits to maintain health and delay the onset of chronic diseases. Half of all Americans will die prematurely of something that is easily preventable, and about half of us are living with a chronic disease that can be managed with the right combination of healthy behaviors. Your article commendably suggested that while there are easy steps to take, there is no single answer to disease. Gene therapy is a breathtaking advance, but no amount of tinkering with DNA is going to prevent heart attacks or cancer unless people know how to change their behavior. JESSIE C. GRUMAN Washington

Those of us who work in hospitals rarely see people who don't smoke, don't drink or aren't overweight, or people who exercise and wear seat belts. Those who adopt a good lifestyle soon find that it can be a fun adventure and that energetic, sexy bodies are not that far away. RUSS H. CARTER Pittsburgh, Pa.

I am disappointed that your cover presented a life of excess food, alcohol and tobacco as fun. What is fun about hangovers, smoker's cough and feeling fat and bloated after a heavy meal? Feeling exhilarated after a good run or bike ride, feeling satisfied after a meal of moderation and feeling rested after a good night's sleep are much more fun. Americans need to know that a life of healthy living is extremely rewarding, not drudgery. Attitudes about what makes a good life must change before our bad habits do. DIANE LEVANDOSKI Dallas, Pa.

I commend TIME for its efforts to promote healthy lifestyles and for the message that it's never too late to start caring for body and mind. The cover of this issue, however, seemed at odds with these positive messages. Smoking and drinking, it claims, are "fun," while the sweat suit-clad "healthier" alternative is not. That dichotomy undermines TIME's message by perpetuating questionable ideas of recreation. We can all be pleased that there are ways to "undo the damage" that causes heart disease, cancer and diabetes. But a medical focus should not blind us to other social problems. Your cover struck me as more likely to exacerbate than undo those problems. JILL N. RAPPOPORT Charlottesville, Va.

I am 30 years old, and I have been overweight all my adult life. I found it disappointing that your article neglected to delve into the motivating factors behind poor lifestyle habits. You failed to mention that unless the driving issues that lead to gluttonous behavior are dealt with, the suggested solutions are certain to have the life-span of most fad diets. LUTHER MACE Los Angeles

While it is true that it is "never too late to eat right," your comment that dietitians have "harangued us to lower the amount of fat in our diet" is not accurate. Dietitians have been instructing people for years not only to lower fat but also to limit saturated fats and increase omega-3 fatty acids. Dietitians encourage people to make lifestyle changes that will help improve their quality of life. These changes require time and effort and are not the quick fixes people like to hear about and the media like to write about. JOAN STEWART Mount Holly, N.J.

Clinton's Latest Scandal

Clinton knew just what he was doing when he pardoned supersleaze Marc Rich [NATION, Feb. 5]. It was a terrible confirmation of Clinton's sneakiness and ultimate lack of trustworthiness. In the end, it's all about Clinton. Maybe with his newfound free time Clinton can have a good, long sit-down with himself and see the price he's paid and why he inspires so much disgust. As for newly freed billionaire Rich, he would be well advised to hold off on his long-awaited dream to stroll down Fifth Avenue and "wave to his friends"; he should sit tight in his luxurious fortress in Switzerland. REED BIRNEY New York City

If Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich stinks, then how much greater is the stench of President Bush's proposed tax giveaway of $1.6 trillion, most of which will go to the wealthiest Americans? Bush's proposed tax cut is 32,000 times as great as Rich's $50 million tax swindle. In essence, Bush wants to save thousands of Marc Riches from the tiresome chore of having to cheat on their taxes. JOE HEAPHEY Greencastle, Ind.

You mentioned that Clinton is listening to Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. Let's hope that all we hear from the former President is The Sound of Silence. RANDY BRESS Hermitage, Pa.

Rich stole umpteen million dollars that he owed in taxes and got away with it, thanks to Clinton's presidential pardon, which was preceded by high-level lobbying from the likes of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and King Juan Carlos of Spain.

George W. Bush stole an election in a nation of more than 260 million people and got away with it, thanks to Florida officials' stonewalling. The moral distinction between these two swindlers eludes me. Either put both of them in prison or permit both to continue operating with complete impunity. RUTH AMY LITT LAUFER New York City

Bush's First "Baby" Steps

Re Bush's first "dream week" in office [NATION, Feb. 5]: Perhaps all that chumminess among the White House, Congress and the press is preventing you from noticing that millions of Americans have been horrified every time they have opened the newspaper these past couple of weeks. Relaxing EPA standards to accommodate the energy crisis? Removing funds from international organizations that promote reproductive choice? Muddying those silly constitutional waters that separate church and state? Bush may be garnering "pretty good reviews" from a conservative Congress, but he's preaching to the choir. Don't forget the rest of us. WENDY KAREN MAYER Santa Cruz, Calif.

Reduce funding to schools where the students are already struggling? Doesn't it occur to anyone that this will increase the problems? What are we going to do later with the children who are stuck at these schools? Build more jails for them? Is this compassionate conservatism? Bush's school-funding cuts and grants for character education are simply another poorly disguised gift to his rich friends at the expense of the rest of us. Virtually all poorly performing schools are in poverty-stricken areas, and top performers are mostly where the rich live. TOM BRADLEY Poway, Calif.

King of the Crooners

As a lifelong Bing Crosby fan, I found your review of Gary Giddins' new biography [BOOKS, Feb. 5] quite satisfying. Your critic says justice has been done to Bing at last. It's about time. Crosby was arguably this country's greatest all-around entertainer. He was certainly the most versatile.

The sales of his recordings (including more No. 1 hits, by far, than either Elvis Presley or the Beatles had) were astronomical. He was Hollywood's biggest box-office draw for five consecutive years in the '30s, and if dollars are adjusted for inflation, he was the third biggest box-office draw in motion-picture history. He was also a dominant (perhaps the dominant) radio personality from the mid-'30s to the mid-'50s. Despite these accomplishments, almost no one (including TIME) gave Bing more than passing mention when all those "100 best of the century" lists were being cranked out--which proved to me that most of the people who cooked up the lists were too young for the job. ROBERT H. HANDY Waverly, Ohio

Ailing Aircraft

As I read your article "Wounded Osprey" [NATION, Feb. 5], an old saying kept popping into my mind: "Necessity is the mother of invention." What necessitates the use of this aircraft? The cold war is over, and we are not at war. So why is the military so careless with the lives of those who must take the risk of flying the Osprey? This nation put a man on the moon in less time than it has taken to get this aircraft off the ground with doors that open and functional cooling-heating and communications systems. Sometimes the art of being a great leader is knowing when to cut your losses and get out. Do we have that great leadership now? Or will we continue to be the fools rushing in where angels fear to tread? PATRICK J. MARSTALL Emporia, Kans.

Voluptuous Vocabulary

I had a crazy English teacher in high school who insisted that we memorize very strange vocabulary words, like callipygian. Thank you for proving to me that those weren't wasted lessons. Your reference to Jennifer Lopez as "the callipygian queen" was classic [PEOPLE, Feb. 5]. You've got to love an adjective that means having a beautifully proportioned posterior! JAMES W. CRILLY Chicago