READERS BITE BACK

Letters

Blind Justice

I cannot adequately put into words what I felt reading Jesse Kombluth's "Blind Justice" [December]. It brought back all the pain I felt when I lost my only daughter in an accident several years ago, and the anger I feel time and again at people responsible for taking a young life, who can go on with their own lives, unwilling to accept the responsibility of their actions.

ELLA T. ELLINGTON The Woodlands, Texas

Jesse Kombluth's article exemplifies a strength of balanced reporting and social morality rarely found in today's upscale magazines. We are all affected by a society which seems to hold the so-called glamorous careers and life-styles in greater esteem than the enduring benefits of family relationships. A society's strength is measured by, among other yardsticks, its ability to inform a future generation with its moral standards. We need all the help we can get. Thank you for this reminder.

ROBIN MOWER New York, New York

I also lost someone to a drunk driver—a friend with a lot going for him. He was run down while standing at a Chicago bus stop. Your article is very timely. It is time for the yuppie generation to be hit in the face with real values.

JIM K. RUSNAK Chicago, Illinois

Everyone should read this who ever drinks and drives—or ever would.

KATHERINE LAURIE GREEN Vancouver, Washington

Floral Tribute

When Fred Astaire's first wife [December] died in 1954, I was working for Stanley Medeiros' Flowers in Beverly Hills. Imagine our surprise when a car pulled up in front of the shop and discharged Ava Astaire. In she marched, all twelve years of her, very proper in her afternoon frock and white gloves. She announced that her father had asked her to order flowers for the services, which she proceeded to do with a presence far beyond her years. A month after the funeral, Mr. Astaire came in and thanked us for our help. Those moments represented something you don't see too often in this town—real class.

CHRIS MARCONI Los Angeles, California

Trump Shrugged

It was refreshing to read the viewpoint of Donald Trump [December], whom the media have made out to be capitalism's "Prince of Darkness." He comes across to me as a person of authentic self-esteem, straight out of an Ayn Rand novel, and a proponent of objectivist ethics. What he says makes a great deal of both conceptual and common sense.

DAVID BERT Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Sweet Charity

Thank you for "Charity's Angels" ["Fanfair," December], in which you mention Barbara Sinatra's support of abused children and incest victims in Southern California. As the person who nominated her children's center for the award she will receive next month from the American Orthopsychiatric Association, I am pleased that your magazine has recognized her and others who work "behind the scenes" to do many of the things that must be done in our country.

JAMES E. COLE Palm Springs, California

Letters to the editor should he sent with the writer's name, address, and phone number to: The Editor, Vanity Fair, 350 Madison Avenue. New York, New York 10017. The letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity.