Tears of laughter
I have been reading your wonderful paper for too many years to count now. I feel that I have to disagree with some of the letters sent to the Editor regarding the popularity of some of the articles.
It would seem that there is some sort of campaign regarding ‘Is it just me?’. Sorry, but I just can’t see it. While it can be informative (both authors, of course) and even humorous, it does not even come close to ‘A Month in Monchique’.
This month, I had tears streaming down my eyes as I read about Andrew crawling on his belly. I have been reduced to the same state myself during gentle walks in the Algarve!
I note that Paul McKay used to be a teacher. I am not sure if he still teaches, but I think that he could write a very good book along the lines of A Year in Provence. In fact, I would go as far as to say that his would be the better read.
I hope you print this to show Paul that his article is appreciated and I am sure that many others feel the same way that I do.
I also find his ‘Virtual Vegetables’ column very informative and easy to follow. For the first time ever, I have grown some vegetables of my own and I am enjoying my own peas! But again, it’s not as good as ‘A Month in Monchique’. Keep up the good work!
Michael Hunt
Lagos
Dear Resident Readers,
I need one minute of your time. In that minute, six people will die from HIV/Aids, four of them in Africa. Hopefully, in that time, I will have convinced you that there’s something YOU can do.
Join the ONE Campaign. By signing their declaration, they will be one step closer to the eradication of HIV/Aids, starvation and poverty.
“WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of ‘helping others help themselves’, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome Aids and extreme poverty.
“WE RECOGNISE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs – education, health, clean water, food and care for orphans – would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one per cent more of the US budget.
“WE COMMIT ourselves – one person, one voice, one vote at a time – to make a better, safer world for all.”
It only takes one minute to sign and, if that saves one life, that makes you a better person. By signing, you will be showing solidarity for a crisis that should be inconceivable in the 21st century, when most of us have a home, a car and can send our children to a good school. In many parts of the world, this is impossible due to the seemingly never ending poverty, which leads to starvation. In one minute, you can join millions of others and, in one voice, call for justice.
Sign the ONE Declaration on www.one.org. It will only take you one minute.
Jessica Woolfson
Lisbon
Reply to letter published in The Resident’s June 3 edition
Dear Mr. Hammond,
Part of what I try to achieve, in my ‘Is It Just Me?’ column, is to be thought provoking and I am pleased that I have, once again, succeeded. Of course, we all have our own opinions on certain subjects – how wearisome it would be if we did not – and yet I feel that there exist certain fundamental truths that should be adhered to by the human race as a whole: ‘Thou shalt not kill’ is one of them.
I know that only “as an ass assumes”, but I shall take the risk and assume that you are older, American and not related to Pat Tillman. I will also, in this instance, leave to one side the moral arguments surrounding the rights and wrongs of resolving conflict by armed force. Every loss of life is wasteful; no war is ever ‘won’.
I am willing to concede that “the military offers well paying and attractive careers”, but I believe Pat Tillman was NOT a member of that professional army, as the war correspondent Winston Churchill never was!
What is more, could you please explain how a country’s “need for defence forces to protect their citizens” relates to Afghanistan, Kuwait or Iraq for that matter? Did your ‘patriot’ Pat Tillman, whom you liken to the heroes who fought for American independence, have Afghan parentage? Will America ever learn from its disasters in Korea and Vietnam and will its citizens ever be able to look beyond their nation’s insatiable thirst for oil?
I am sorry, William G. Hammond, America is not “the world’s policeman” anymore and it is not protecting and defending out of altruistic motives. It continues to exploit its neighbours for simple and selfish economic reasons. If there ever was a ‘justifiable’ war in your terms, it was that against Hitler. But I am not British nor do I like Mr. Blair. I would never dream of setting foot in his office!
Yours faithfully,
“Skip” Bandele
